A series of talks at the exhibition launch exploring data, computing and technology.

Chaired by Tim James, RCN Digital Nursing Forum Chair, with talks from:

• Subhadra Das, historian and writer - Lies, damn lies and eugenics
• Amelia DeFalco, literary scholar - Where Do Care Robots Come from (and Why Does It Matter)?
• Rachael Kent, digital health consultant, author and scholar - The Future of Health in the Rage-Bait Economy
• Rachel Lee Pearl, artist - The Art of the Digital

This event was held in-person and online in September 2026.

A talk about pioneering nurses who initiated and developed specialist services to treat sickle cell and thalassaemia.

In the 1950s-60s, sickle cell was documented as a 'rare tropical disease’ not seen in western countries. But due to migration from British Colonies to the UK, an increasing number of children were born with sickle cell. Many healthcare professionals, unfamiliar with the disease and biased against its sufferers were unwilling and unequipped to help. Learn more about the development of specialist services in this talk chaired by Jenny Bangham, featuring Dr Lola Oni, Dr Marvelle Brown, Christine Williams Collis Rochester-Peart.

This event was held online in September 2026.

A talk exploring the UK's recruitment of Nigerian student nurses to address post-war health care shortages from 1940-1960.

Between 1940 and 1960, British nursing institutions actively recruited Nigerian student nurses to address post-war health care shortages. Historian Mosunmola Ogunmolaji looks at Nigerian applicants’ experiences, tracing the recruitment and application process from advertising and selection to training and placement. She reveals how British institutions leveraged colonial ties to attract Nigerian applicants while reinforcing racial and professional hierarchies.

This event was held online in July 2026.

A panel of writers and artists involved in the project, 'A Balikbayan Box for Nursing'.

Readings and panel hosted by Michael Rosen, featuring RCN writers in residence Romalyn Ante, Jennifer Wong and Christie Watson, as well as artist Marcus Orlandi who facilitated a banner-making workshop for Fences and Frontiers.

This event was held in-person and online in July 2026.

Nursing and Social Justice: A History of Refugee Health

A special Refugee Week webinar looking at the contribution of refugees and asylum seekers in healthcare.

Hear stories of Jewish refugee nurses from Jane Brooks, alongside the wider context of refugee health from Thomas Jones in this online talk chaired by Diane Yarwood, a member of the History of Nursing Forum.

This event was held online in June 2026.

In Conversation with Nursing Pioneers: Migration and Health Inequalities

A talk delivered on International Nurses' Day 2026 looking at immigration and social justice in nursing.

This event, chaired by Nola Ishmael OBE, brought together a panel of RCN Fellows including Professor Calvin Moorley MBE, Jason Warriner and Felicia Kwaku OBE. Hear from these nurses who have a range of different experiences of working in the field of research, education and practice on migration, health inequalities and social justice. 

This event was held online in May 2026.

The Art of Nursing: Many Different Kinds (with Michael Rosen)

An Art of Nursing webinar exploring the multi-faceted arts of caring. 

The final Art of Nursing webinar, in partnership with the Foundation of Nursing Studies, hosted by public health specialist and nurse, Marion Lynch on creativity in healthcare.

Hear author Michael Rosen talking about his experiences in intensive care which inspired him to write a book and from nurse Sophie Wallace who bring musicians into the ITU (Intensive Therapy Unit) to deliver lung health groups.

This event was held online in April 2026.

A talk exploring the history of migration and nursing in the context of imperialism.

The Colonial Nursing Association was founded in 1895 to send trained nurses across the British Empire, while myths about the ‘civilising’ role of colonialism were widespread. This talk, chaired by Vari Drennan, sets the history of migration and nursing in the context of imperialism  and colonialism.

Hear from authors Subhadra Das (Uncivilised: Ten Lies That Made the West) and Kandace Chimbiri (The Story of Britain’s Black Nurses) about how empire shaped nursing history.

This event was held online in April 2026.

A series of talks at the exhibition launch exploring stories of migration in nursing.

Chaired by RCN President, Bejoy Sebastian, and featuring activists, artists and nursing pioneers speaking about how migration has shaped their lives and work:

• Dr Claire Chatterton, on the history of migration and nursing
• Dr Calvin Moorley, Professor of Diversity and Social Justice at London South Bank University, born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago
• Haleema Aziz, a mixed media artist and creator of 'Inside Home' sculpture
• Lewis Garland, Karina Arevalo, and Akrem Naser from Fences and Frontiers
• Romalyn Ante, award-winning poet and nurse, born and raised in the Philippines

This event was held in-person and online in March 2026.

The tenth Art of Nursing Webinar looks at the role of music in care.

A webinar hosted by Dr Marion Lynch, featuring Open Harmony’s lived-experience music projects and the National Academy of Social Prescribing, which delves into the role of music in care.

This event was held online in March 2026.

This talk is on healthcare, politics and history from the design and style of nursing cartoons.

Historian, Dr Sue Hawkins speaks on the development of children's hospital nursing in the late 19th century, through the analysis of a collection of cartoons by probationer Ada Bois.

Holly Burrows talks about The Cartoon Museum, the UK's only museum/gallery dedicated to the art of comics, cartoons and the people who make them.

Corinne Pearlman, director of the First Graphic Novel Award, covers graphic medicine and shares her favourite comics on nursing.

This event was held at RCN HQ in February 2026.

This talk explores the The Radical Nurses Group's activism work.

The Radical Nurses Group was founded in 1980 by a group of nurses determined to make improvements to their profession and their patients’ lives. Against a backdrop of severe economic recession and political division, they promoted direct action, rallies and work-ins across the country.

Hear from some of the founders of the group, and explore how the innovative design of their printed material helped challenge perceptions of nurses as silent, respectable and apolitical.

This event was held online in January 2026.

The ninth Art of Nursing webinar explores arts in action.

In this talk, chair Dr Marion Lynch speaks with colleagues from health and the arts. Featuring the Red Noses, it looks at crisis response through the 'Emergency Smile' programme, supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of people in conflict zones. To mark the launch of the 2026 Year of Reading, it also discusses the impact of literature for youth wellbeing with The Reading Agency.

This event was held online in January 2026.

This online talk explores the pioneering achievements in digital nursing.

Hosted by Dr Daniel Kelly and chaired by Helen Balsdon, RCN Fellows Professor Roxanne Crosby-Nwaobi, Professor Bridie Kent and Professor David Thompson discuss developments in nursing and health care that are making use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the other digital technologies that have begun to transform our lives in recent years, as well as how they might shape the future.

This event was held online in December 2025.

This event gives an insight into a project collaboration between the RCN History of Nursing Forum and HIVstory, an innovative and exciting outreach project imagined by The National HIV Story Trust.

Chaired by Prof. Daniel Kelly, project participants and other speakers from the field of HIV/AIDS nursing discuss their work in gathering oral histories and video recordings of nurses, midwives and support workers who worked during the early years of the AIDS pandemic.

This event was held at RCN HQ in November 2025.

The eight Art of Nursing Webinar, in partnership with Foundation of Nursing Studies, explores how art challenges gender inequality.

In this talk, chair Dr Marion Lynch and colleagues from health and the arts share the impact of art on women’s health. They heighten women’s voices in nursing and ask how the arts can change the gender disparity in leadership.

This talk was held online in November 2025.

A panel discussion about the connections between art and nursing.

This discussion was held to celebrate the public launch of our "The Art of Nursing" exhibition. It was chaired by curator Kate Forde and features artists Heather Agyepong, Ji Sun Sjogren and Panagiotis Poimenidis.

This event was held at the Royal College of Nursing in October 2025.