Join us for an evening exploring art’s powerful role in healing, expression and care. Taking inspiration from themes seen in our exhibition, Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur, we’ll delve into how creative practice can support emotional resilience and social connection.

Bringing together inclusive arts champion CEO and artistic director Sheryll Catto, psychiatrist and curator Dr David O’Flynn and artist Celia Pym, discussion will centre on the work of ‘outsider’ artists such as Madge Gill, examining how art made outside of the traditional systems offers profound insights into personal and collective wellbeing. Together, the speakers will consider how making, mending and expression intersect in both therapeutic and artistic contexts.

About the speakers: Sheryll Catto is Artistic Director and CEO of ActionSpace, a pioneering visual arts organisation supporting learning-disabled artists. With a background in arts management, she has championed inclusive arts practices through her work for ActionSpace for almost two decades. ActionSpace creates platforms for underrepresented voices in the contemporary art world by collaborating with leading cultural institutions to ensure accessible opportunities for learning-disabled artists, and promotes the therapeutic value of artistic expression. Sheryll regularly speaks on inclusion, creativity and the transformative power of art.

Dr David O’Flynn is a consultant psychiatrist and until stepping back from clinical practice in 2022, was at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust working with people living with enduring and life changing psychosis. He is Curator – having been Chair from 2004 to 2024 – of Adamson Collection Trust. He was also Chair of Bethlem Gallery from 2014 to 2022. He has long explored the intersection between mental health and the visual arts, advocating for the recognition of art created by people compelled to be in the mental health system, within clinical and cultural contexts. David has curated exhibitions and written extensively on historical and contemporary outsider art.

Celia Pym is a textile artist exploring themes of care and repair through darning. With a background in fine art and nursing, her work highlights the emotional depth in mending. Celia uses textile processes to reflect on grief, resilience and the quiet therapeutic nature of making and healing. Her work has been exhibited internationally in venues such as the Wellcome Collection, the V&A Dundee and the Textilmuseum in St. Gallen, Switzerland. In 2017, Pym was shortlisted for both the Woman’s Hour Craft Prize and the inaugural Loewe Craft Prize.

Take part at the museum: Join us at the museum for this special event, followed by drinks, book signing and exhibition visit until 20.45.

Watch online: This discussion will also be broadcast live from the museum. Online ticketholders will be emailed a link to join 24 hours in advance. Ticketholders will also receive a link to view a recording of the talk, which will be available for two weeks.

Photo: Nnena Kalu, Artist portrait. Courtesy of the Artist and ActionSpace