Our History

Written by Studio Manager, Mark Cremmen (February 2026)

In 1995 David and I were working at the ‘Vale’, a light industrial workshop in Redhill and part of East Surrey’s adult mental health services. The Vale had been a workshop at Netherne, the psychiatric hospital in Coulsdon. As part of Margaret Thatcher’s ‘Care in the Community’, Netherne had been closed a few years earlier; wards and departments moved out and into the community.

Apart from David and myself, the staff team and patients at the Vale had been together for many years – since Netherne Hospital.  With so much change at that time, patients felt reassured by familiar people, work and routines.  However, the public’s understanding of mental health, which had been as removed as the closing institutions, was developing, as was a community mental health sector.  Netherne had pioneered Art Therapy in the 40s and 50s when more than 2000 people resided there, but the lights were going out, and the Vale felt like the end of an era.

Looking to the future, East Surrey LD & MH Services NHS Trust sent out an open memo to mental health practitioners, asking for new ideas for services – particularly aimed at younger people and early intervention.  In the few months of working together, David and I talked about the benefits of creativity on health. We then shared these thoughts and ideas with the OTs at the Vale.  They supported setting up a small workshop area in the Vale to make and decorate craft items.

There was general interest in what we were doing. A small number of patients joined in with the making and decorating of boxes, flowerpots and lampshades which we sold at our first craft fair at East Surrey Hospital. As our work was promoted to a wider community, we were invited to feedback our experience of the new craft initiative. We gave a presentation to a large group of Surrey mental health professionals, and the ideas were very well received. Within a month or so, an NHS property on Monson Road, Redhill was provided as a studio for the new project. efore leaving the Vale, we carried out a ballot for a new name for the service. The name ‘Craft Matters’ was settled on.

After Tony Blair won the 1997 election, the labour party reinstated mental health on the national agenda.  Referrals to Craft Matters increased, the new studio was embraced by the local community and became established within mental health services.

As the studio evolved, there was a move from making craft items to making art. We collaborated with mental health groups NIMHE, SEDC and businesses including Pfizer, Unum and Kuoni. An art library scheme was set up by the studio and artworks could be rented out for set fees.  Promoting positive images of mental health and running interactive art events, our reputation as a participatory arts project grew prominently. With increasing evidence, the value of creativity on mental wellbeing was recognised. Art was a positive way to promote mental wellbeing and break down years of misunderstanding and stigma. To reflect our changing identity, the studio changed its name around the time of the millennia; ‘Art Matters’ was born.

The workshop was a vibrant, busy and a safe environment. However, work stopped on one afternoon. We all gathered around the radio and listened to the news from America.  The twin towers and the Pentagon were under attack. A silence, a sense of doubt, settled on the studio.  Following these events, Art Matters marked 9/11 for years, traveling into the country or to the sea to make art, to remember.

For the longest time, local residents and neighbours campaigned to stop the developers from moving in on the Art Matters studio. But in 2005, we received notice and had to relocate.  Surrey and Borders had a building in Horley and with the help of everyone attending, we packed up and moved on.  The building in Horley was twice the size of the Monson studio and the space offered artists opportunities to work at a larger scale.

In the same year, East Surrey community mental health services transferred to Richmond Fellowship.  Change happened quickly, clinical support was withdrawn and a social/recovery ‘model’dopted.  With Service Users, a new working framework was designed and agreed, including a ‘Statement of Service’, two-year residencies, referrals and an enrolment protocol.  Art Matters also made budget decisions and created two new staff posts – one in Admin and the other, a creative role overseeing textiles and printing.

We were obliged to move from the NHS building in Horley and again set about relocating.  Two attending Art Matters artists, Trevor and Nick, mentioned an empty looking church building in Earlswood.  David and I visited, peered through the windows of an unlit, dusty, grey interior and thrilled at its potential!  RF Property Services manager, Ian Reynolds, rode from London on his motorcycle, and we met with members of the church at a small table in the hall to agree terms. Ian was a tremendous support during negotiations and instrumental in organising for work to be carried out.  £40k was spent on the building including a new floor, kitchen and lighting. This was 2009 and we’ve been here ever since.

The Earlswood studio has served us well over the years. During Covid, a large rainbow was painted on the outside of the building and became a beacon of support for Art Matters artists and a meeting point for the local community.

In 2023 David and Rita both retired. David had been part of the Art Matters genesis and Rita was our Administrator for many years.

The current Art Matters studio team is made up of around 120 people including artists, peer tutors, volunteers, artists in residence and the staff team of Jalia, Michelle, Ama, Natasha and Mark. All working together with the Surrey arts and mental health communities. We continue to provide a service that supports individuals in exploring their creativity in a safe environment.