Air Arts

Call Directions Website Contact the organisation

Derby and Burton Hospitals Charity - Air Arts

Air Arts aims to create a calm and welcoming environment, providing support and reassurance for patients, staff and visitors at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton. The Air Arts Team bring art, dance, drama, poetry, storytelling, crafts and music onto the corridors and into the waiting areas and wards to enhance the environment and provide moments of reflection and distraction for everyone.

26/10/2026

We are excited to share that the release of our new charity EP, including the track, '𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞', is coming soon.

Here's a sneak peek of the music, inspired by our musicians' experiences on the renal ward.

Listen closely and you'll hear the familiar sounds of dialysis machines woven into the music, turning something many patients hear every day into part of the composition itself.

We can't wait to share the full track and official music video with you soon.

Arts Council England Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity Jamie Rutherford - Guitarist Sinfonia Viva Derby Cathedral Music

25/10/2026

Sometimes the most meaningful moments happen when you least expect them.

Over the past year, our charity musicians have been bringing live music into some of the busiest corners of our hospitals through our Music in Unusual Spaces project. 🎵

From waiting areas and corridors to hospital entrances, gardens and cafes, our musicians have been able to connect with patients, visitors and staff in areas you may not typically find music, creating welcome experiences throughout our hospitals.

One patient said: "𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮, 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮."

We're proud to have delivered this project across our hospitals thanks to funding from The National Lottery Community Fund 💙

22/10/2026

✨ A little theatre magic at Derby Children's Hospital.

Earlier this week, Actcessible Theatre Company treated children and families to a performance of Sword in the Stone before visiting young patients on the ward.

💬 "𝙄𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙪𝙣. 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙖 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨", said one parent.

A huge thank you to Actcessible for generously gifting their time and creating special moments for patients and families. 💙

20/10/2026

Music supports NHS staff too.👨‍⚕️🏥🎵

Hospital life can be demanding for staff as well as patients.

During our Wandering Minstrels programme, funded by Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity and Arts Council England, many colleagues told us that live music:

- Reduced stress
- Lifted morale
- Made ward feel less clinical and more welcoming
- Improved atmosphere
- Helped them connect differently with patients

🎶𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐈𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.💓

16/10/2026

A simple song request turned into a conversation that is special in a number of ways

During our Wandering Minstrels music project, a patient receiving cancer treatment asked to hear 'Blaydon Races', a song that reminded her of growing up in Newcastle.

𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲.

The conversation continued long after the music ended, with memories of home, family and a cousin who still lives in the house where she grew up.

Afterwards, her daughter said: "I'd never heard those stories before."

It's a reminder that 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧.

Interactions like this are possible thanks to the funding from Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity and Arts Council England.

11/10/2026

🎵Coming soon: 'Home From Home'🎵

Throughout the Wandering Minstrels project, our musicians spent time listening to stories, building relationships and getting to know the people who make up our hospital communities.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 '𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞' - 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫-𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐄𝐏 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞, 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬.

Composed by our charity musicians Rosie Rutherford and Jamie Rutherford - Guitarist the EP was recorded at Derby Cathedral and features musicians from Air Arts, Sinfonia Viva, Derby Cathedral Music and the UHDB Staff Wellbeing Choir.

Project funded by Arts Council England and Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity

09/10/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲. 🎼

Over the 18 month project, our Wandering Minstrel musicians:

- Delivered more than 160 ward visits
- Reached thousands of patients and hundreds of staff
- Worked across dementia, cancer, stroke, renal and end-of-life care
- Supported patients, families and staff
- Generated £9.29 of social value* for every £1 invested

*𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵. (𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭)

The programme showed that live music can make a meaningful difference to the hospital experience for everyone involved.

Project funded by Arts Council England and Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity

07/10/2026

We are proud of our charity musicians - here's what they do to support patients, visitors and staff.🎵

It's very different from a traditional performance, 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 who combine musical excellence with advanced skills in communication, empathy, clinical awareness and responsiveness. They work alongside patients, families and staff, adapting their approach to the people and environment around them and creating music in the moment.

𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢. Our evaluation found that some of the most meaningful moments happened when patients led the experience, whether through singing, sharing memories, requesting favourite songs or simply connecting through conversation.

As one musician reflected:
"We do not play to, but with. We listen and respond."

And another shared:
"It's easy to play to people. The magic is between you."

05/10/2026

Re-introducing our Wandering Minstrels...

For the last 18 months, our charity musicians, in collaboration with Sinfonia Viva musicians, have been working alongside patients, families and NHS staff across University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust exploring how live music in clinical areas can support wellbeing, connection and care.

From helping spark memories on dementia wards to supporting stroke rehabilitation and providing comfort during long dialysis sessions, music has become part of everyday hospital life.

Over the coming weeks, we'll be sharing the incredible impact of the programme and introducing 'Home From Home' - a new collection of original music inspired by the people, stories and moments that came out of the work which was kindly funded by the Arts Council England and Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity.

To find out more, take a look at our short film which tells the story of the Wandering Minstrels.

30/09/2026

Our resident artist, E J Lance (Emma Bailey), was invited to present at a prestigious international healthcare conference, showcasing how creative practice can support clinician wellbeing, observation skills and patient care.

During the conference, Emma delivered a practical session exploring how drawing can be used as a tool for observation, reflection and wellbeing.

Read full story: https://bit.ly/aa-conference26

Address

Royal Derby Hospital
Derby
DE223NE

Telephone

01332 786201

Website

http://www.airarts.net/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Air Arts posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.