Art Journal Development Project | Creative Wellbeing in D&G
Background:
For participants, creative wellbeing activity has the potential to develop skills and confidence; access pathways towards further training, qualifications, enterprise; and crucially, lead to long-term health & wellbeing... With anxiety and depression on the rise, OPA has made a long-term commitment to improve wellbeing, with a particular focus on building resilience. As a result, we have developed Art Journal Project (AJP) which focuses on engaging with guided participatory art as a gateway toward developing skills, coping mechanisms, self-management tools and mindful practice techniques. The transformative powers of art and its impact on health is strongly supported by evidence - leveraging this is a cornerstone of our future direction as we look towards post-pandemic community recovery.
D&G is home to a large network of creative professionals and established arts organisations, many of whom have the skills and experience to formally deliver activity that impacts positively on people’s wellbeing and promotes social change. At a national level 'creative prescribing' is becoming more commonly on offer for people experiencing mental health problems and/or isolation, helping people in their recovery through access to arts/culture/crafts and increased social engagement. Although these schemes are varied in their approaches and settings, the common themes are that there are referral processes, and that activities take place in the community, facilitated by artists rather than therapists. Access depends on geographical location and referrers' understanding and awareness of the benefits of art, and knowledge of accessible opportunities.
Mission & Strategy:
There is momentum towards partnership working within our region's arts and culture sector, and with a connected vision, we can galvanise existing relationships, foster new partnerships and alliances, and collectively access greater investment to facilitate wider-reaching, innovative and ambitious programmes of creative wellbeing activity. These developments would allow our region’s arts & culture sector to better support the needs of people and communities affected by Covid19 and create more formal links between arts, culture and healthcare/social care, which has been successful in other regions. By building a cross-sector vision, we will expand the capacity of existing organisations and work together towards achieving a socially aware and resilient 'wellbeing economy' in D&G that confronts and addresses existing obstacles, barriers and inequalities.
With partnership support from SOSE, NHS Endowment Fund & Holywood Trust, from August 2021 - March 2022 we carried out a research and development project that aimed to strengthen and significantly scale-up the Art Journal Project programme and initiate a cross-sector 'Creative Wellbeing Network'. The project's main directives were to:
Background:
For participants, creative wellbeing activity has the potential to develop skills and confidence; access pathways towards further training, qualifications, enterprise; and crucially, lead to long-term health & wellbeing... With anxiety and depression on the rise, OPA has made a long-term commitment to improve wellbeing, with a particular focus on building resilience. As a result, we have developed Art Journal Project (AJP) which focuses on engaging with guided participatory art as a gateway toward developing skills, coping mechanisms, self-management tools and mindful practice techniques. The transformative powers of art and its impact on health is strongly supported by evidence - leveraging this is a cornerstone of our future direction as we look towards post-pandemic community recovery.
D&G is home to a large network of creative professionals and established arts organisations, many of whom have the skills and experience to formally deliver activity that impacts positively on people’s wellbeing and promotes social change. At a national level 'creative prescribing' is becoming more commonly on offer for people experiencing mental health problems and/or isolation, helping people in their recovery through access to arts/culture/crafts and increased social engagement. Although these schemes are varied in their approaches and settings, the common themes are that there are referral processes, and that activities take place in the community, facilitated by artists rather than therapists. Access depends on geographical location and referrers' understanding and awareness of the benefits of art, and knowledge of accessible opportunities.
Mission & Strategy:
There is momentum towards partnership working within our region's arts and culture sector, and with a connected vision, we can galvanise existing relationships, foster new partnerships and alliances, and collectively access greater investment to facilitate wider-reaching, innovative and ambitious programmes of creative wellbeing activity. These developments would allow our region’s arts & culture sector to better support the needs of people and communities affected by Covid19 and create more formal links between arts, culture and healthcare/social care, which has been successful in other regions. By building a cross-sector vision, we will expand the capacity of existing organisations and work together towards achieving a socially aware and resilient 'wellbeing economy' in D&G that confronts and addresses existing obstacles, barriers and inequalities.
With partnership support from SOSE, NHS Endowment Fund & Holywood Trust, from August 2021 - March 2022 we carried out a research and development project that aimed to strengthen and significantly scale-up the Art Journal Project programme and initiate a cross-sector 'Creative Wellbeing Network'. The project's main directives were to:
- Establish a diverse steering group with specialist advisors and representatives to drive forward the development project
- Carry out desk-based scoping to identify key strategic and delivery partners and other stakeholders
- Research examples of relevant 'good practice' at regional and national levels
- Map local, regional and national organisations, groups, networks and policy makers linked to Creative Wellbeing
- Identify key questions and carry out a series of targeted 1-2-1 interviews with stakeholders and decision-makers
- Facilitate a programme of engagement events/workshops with groups of key stakeholders to co-design Phase 2 AJP's programme
- Identify needs, barriers and opportunities
- Create an accessible evaluation tool/strategy that helps evidence the benefits of Creative Wellbeing practices
- Develop a Phase 2 AJP model to reach greater numbers of people with specific needs
- Initiate a potential cross-sector Creative Wellbeing Network and collect feedback on next steps
- Identify funding opportunities to take AJP & Creative Wellbeing Network forward
- Report research findings and resources in a report / learning document
Above: Scribed graphic illustration from the Art Journal Development Project's creative wellbeing network event by Izzy Carroll.
As a result of this project, OutPost Arts successfully achieved funding from the Scottish Government's 'Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund' to support a full time Creative Wellbeing Director to spearhead taking forward the report's outcomes and recommendations.
OutPost Arts would like to thank the project's funders and all the people who kindly donated their time and energy - the steering group, participants of the creative engagement sessions, everyone who attended the Creative Network event, and the questionnaire respondents - your contributions were incredibly important and valuable.
See full project report below:
“We have learned we have the tools to motivate change. In this area of work we want to raise the esteem and build the credibility of arts and culture to make a more impactful, visible and sustainable change to the lives of people that need it most”- Jason Railton, OPA Chair
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Scottish Registered Charity: SC048764
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