Rudy Loewe: Intimacies of Care—Spaces of Grief and Possibility

Through sculpture, paintings, text-based work and sound, multidisciplinary artist Rudy Loewe (b.1987) creates a space of hope, in which they reimagine a mental health care system that is equitable and supportive in their exhibition of new commissions, Intimacies of Care—Spaces of Grief and Possibility, at Wellcome Collection opening July 10. 

Through their work, Loewe advocates for Black people whose experience of mental health care in the UK is adversely impacted by racist discrimination. They present an opportunity to consider an alternative and empathetic experience of mental health care. 

Central to the exhibition is Activation Sculpture (2026), a large-scale new sculptural commission with sound installations that activates to offer intimate live events and forms a place to reimagine healing and care. Plants and herbs, such as tinder fungus and damiana, associated with energy, healing and sustainability have been incorporated into the fabric of the sculpture. 

Black people are often denied help when seeking support for mental health issues, yet they are four times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than white people. In developing the exhibition, Loewe worked with grassroots organisations—with ADHD Babes, the Black Trans Foundation, and Black and Neurodiverse—that support Black people who would otherwise struggle to access appropriate and timely mental health care. Workshops with the groups’ members informed the creation of works such as The Search for Care / The Lack of Care (2026) and List of Demands (2026), which crystalise some of their conversations, through text-based sculpture and paintings capturing lived experiences and dreams of radically reimagined care. 

New figurative paintings use vibrant and bold colours, such as And Here We Found One Another (2025) showing two Black people engaging in spiritual healing and symbols from folklore common to Loewe’s previous work; and Rage (2025), in which a Black person is represented through flames, encircled by many police officers.  

Loewe said, “Central to Intimacies of Care—Spaces of Grief and Possibility are Black people’s lived experiences of the mental healthcare system and the community practices we create in lieu of getting the support we need. By inviting visitors to consider alternative approaches to care, my hope is that people see there are other possibilities outside of the system we currently live in.” 

Madeleine Kennedy, Wellcome Collection Curator, said, “One of the pillars of Wellcome Collection’s mission is to platform a radical imagination of what health is and what it could be. In their commission, Rudy Loewe models what this means in practice, collaborating with people affected by racism in the mental healthcare system to collectively dream of more just and abundant forms of care, and inviting visitors to join in this reimagining through a restful space that shares lineages of community care structures and healing practices.”

Integral to Loewe's project is an extended programme of dedicated opening hours, including Lights Up and Low Stimulation sessions, to make the exhibition as accessible as possible for a diverse range audiences.

The exhibition opens in parallel with The Surviving Exhibitions, the first museum exhibition dedicated to the work of artist Audrey Amiss (1933–2013), whose archive was donated to Wellcome Collection in 2014. Amiss was a talented and prolific artist who often used art to advocate for those who have experienced harm during mental health treatment.