Murmuration Exhibition

20 December, 2023 - 24 September, 2024 / Tonic Gallery, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Place, Edinburgh EH10 5HF

Our Murmuration Exhibition, in partnership with Artlink Edinburgh, celebrates this summer’s Murmuration March which marked the finale of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital’s Summer Fling.

The exhibition showcases poems by Simon Porter and mixed media artworks created by patients in Artlink workshops.

Hear Simon reading his poems

The Murmuration March took place on Wednesday 30th August, and was organised by Artlink Hospital Arts and supported by Becky Brazil, Arts and Greenspace Manager at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. The March congregated at the Glasshouses and took a thirty minute route around the hospital stopping at the Robert Ferguson Unit, the Royal Edinburgh Building entrance, the Royal Edinburgh Community Gardens, the Hive and then back to the Glasshouses for more music and refreshments.

The March was led by compere George Demure, a passenger on a push bike for two (lent out for the day by the Robert Ferguson Unit) pedalled by Jan-Bert van den Berg, Director of Artlink. Throughout the event, Omar Afif, a Gnawa musician, provided live music and at each stop there was a poetry drop, featuring a collection of six Murmuration Poem’s written and read by Simon Porter andrecorded by George Demure.

The Murmuration March was a collective effort by the whole hospital community, particularly the patients attending the Glasshouses workshops as well as wards across the hospital under the artistic direction of textile artist, Laura Lees, and Anne Elliot. All the costumes, banners and props were made from recycled fabric and scraps.

People attended dressed as seagulls, ducks, dwls, eagles and pigeons and all came together to form the Murmuration March.

Thank you to everyone who took part and made the event such a fun and memorable occasion.

Find out more about our Tonic Arts Exhibition programme, providing engaging, changing displays of professional, patient and staff artworks for exploration, reflection and distraction.

Gallery of images from the Murmuration March