"I feel so safe here." An exhibition of stories: collecting and sharing oral histories of St Helena Hospice, north east Essex

St Helena Hospice stories collection: Heritage and Life Stories exhibition was a public exhibition telling the story of the origin of hospice care in north east Essex through oral history and celebrating the lives of its patients 40 years on. Oral history recordings matter to the people who told their story, whether because they are reflecting on their contribution to St Helena Hospice, or because they are receiving palliative or end of life care from it. The result was a collective experience for the interviewees, the researcher, and the visitors who listened to and read the stories. This Practice as Research project is followed by a Dissertation exploring how the hospice movement came about in post-war Britain, bringing with it a change in the language and visibility of dying and death, and a change in the care of people with incurable illness. St Helena Hospice was one of the hospices established in the mid-1980s as a result of these developments, as shown through firsthand stories collected and presented in the exhibition. It also looks at the connection of journalism in oral history, and oral history in a palliative care setting, and together their use in creating an audiovisual exhibition.