‘Creative in Corona’: Student Art Exhibition

Art created by students at Senior School Voorschoten (SSV) to highlight their emotions during the Coronavirus pandemic was unveiled at the Haaglanden Medical Centre, Antoniushove Location (HMC), in late February. The British School in The Netherlands (BSN) students have created the art to demonstrate how they have responded to the recent difficult adaptations in their lives using creativity.

Project Leader and Art Teacher at SSV, Martin Steyn, said: 

The past year and a half has had an enormous impact on the world and has affected all of us in so many ways. Our young people have had to make huge social and mental adaptations to their lives.

‘Art students at the BSN have responded with such resilience through this period and persevered to find ways of expressing themselves creatively. Through periods of lockdown and hybrid learning, progress has needed to be made to ensure success in examinations. They can only be commended for what has been achieved, on view in the corridors of Antoniushove Hospital in Leidschendam.’

Students' Reflections on the Value of Art

Art students whose work was chosen for the exhibition reflected on the important role that art played for them in recent years.

Art was an escape... Art was an outlet for everything I felt.

Year 13 student

“As lockdown continued, I found motivation in my artwork because I wanted to get to the point where I was happy with my work. Especially since art is so subjective, I thought I just needed to keep going, and it would give me a sense of accomplishment. Being able to do art was both relaxing and provided me with an escape from the difficulty of the situation.”

Year 13 student

Contributing to a Healing Environment

The art was displayed at the Antoniushove Hospital for just over a month and was enjoyed by patients, community members, and hospital staff.

Dr. Peter van Vliet, neurologist/intensivist at HMC:

“We are delighted that the students of the art class of the British School once again present their artwork in our hospital. The quality of the work is outstanding. The artwork offers patients and visitors and employees of our hospital a moment of reflection and contributes to the ‘healing environment’ we strive for. It is great that this partnership between the British School and HMC has grown, and we hope to continue our collaboration for years to come.”

Community Outreach 

The exhibition is the result of an ongoing partnership between the HMC and the BSN to provide access to art for the wider Voorschoten and Leidschendam communities.

Heath Monk, CEO, said:

We feel honoured that our students’ artwork has been selected to be viewed by the public in this venue and hope that it will play a humble part in the healing process for the many patients and visitors who use the building. All of our students feel extremely proud to be a part of this special exhibition.

'We greatly appreciate this partnership with the HMC and hope that we can contribute in a positive way to the well-being of the patients, staff and wider community who will view the artwork.'

Congratulations and Thanks

Congratulations, and many thanks to everyone involved in making this exhibition happen! Graham Rogerson said of the combined efforts of Martin, Project Leader, and Louiza and Athina, SSV Art Technicians, “The three must be commended for their commitment and energy”. He added, “A big thanks to the whole department, including Zelda and Megan, for making this happen”.

Finally, many thanks to the Family Association and BSN CEO Heath Monk, who helped sponsor this exhibit.

Though it was not possible to host an event at the hospital this year (due to the health and safety restrictions at the time), the exhibit itself reflects the massive achievement and effort from the students and staff and fantastic community outreach.