DG CREATIVE WELLBEING PROJECT

A ground-breaking regional programme of artistic and cultural opportunities, events and activities that enhance people’s wellbeing and improve community and healthcare environments. ​

In 2021-22, following the successful delivery of a pilot creative prescribing project in Langholm during lockdown, and with support from SOSE, NHS Endowment Fund and Holywood Trust, OPA carried out a 6-month research and development project to map existing creative wellbeing strategies and stakeholders, scope opportunities, and potential partnerships and identify and co-design next steps via engagement and consultation.

The project marked a significant step forward for creative wellbeing in D&G, with key strategic and delivery partnerships formed as a result. Through these new relationships, we accessed target participant groups – allowing us to pin-point needs, understand barriers and inequalities, and create responsive programmes of activities. 

This work resulted in ‘DG Creative Wellbeing’ – a ground-breaking programme of impactful arts activities, projects events, and interventions across D&G, working in communities, care and healthcare settings, currently supported by National Lottery Community Fund, The Holywood Trust, People's Postcode Trust and Dumfries & Galloway Health Board Endowment Fund. 

Through the project, OutPost Arts have formed an important partnership with NHS D&G, coordinating an embedded Art in Healthcare programme across various healthcare sites supported by D&G Health Board Endowment Fund. A regional cross-sector Creative Wellbeing Network has also been established – creating an accessible platform to share and discuss creative wellbeing themes, nurture collaboration, and amplify art and culture’s important connection to health and wellbeing in our region. ​ ​

IMPACT

From Jan 2023 - Feb 2025 DG Creative Wellbeing project:

Supported 1348 people across community and clinical participatory programmes.

Supported 439 NHS D&G staff to directly engage in programme activities.

Held creative health and wellbeing events attended by over 600 people.

Hosted exhibitions which have attracted audiences of over 30,000 people.
At a glance, DG Creative Wellbeing - 
  • Opens up access to arts/culture opportunities for people experiencing barriers and inequalities, such as disability, poor mental or physical health, isolation, trauma, and poverty or low income – enhancing health and wellbeing and building confidence and resilience.
  • Embeds art into healthcare and residential care environments, supporting the wellbeing of people giving and receiving care.
  • Gives voice to people with personal experience of disability, stigma, exclusion, poor mental or physical health, isolation, poverty or low income, and/or trauma.
  • Works in partnership with stakeholders (including people with lived experience) to form a connected vision for creative health and wellbeing in D&G, increasing opportunities for cross-sector and partnership working.
  • Promotes learning, skills-development, creative enterprise and employability.
  • Generates and disseminates creative health and wellbeing news, opportunities and resources
  • Inspires new ideas and approaches, connecting D&G’s art and culture sector to creative health and wellbeing opportunities.
  • Raises awareness and understanding around art’s positive impact on health and wellbeing.  ​
In 2024, OutPost Arts forged an additional working relationship with Scottish Care to pilot a creative engagement project in x3 care homes across Dumfries & Galloway. The project's main aims - to support the wellbeing of staff and residents through creative participation and to encourage everyone to ENJOY ART - were thoroughly achieved, but this ambitious wee project also sought to ask and answer important questions that might help us to plan future initiatives and activities; allowing stakeholders to co-design next steps. We're excited to continue to work with Scottish Care and our regional and national arts/culture partners to fulfil the creative ambitions of everyone involved, and develop this project further from 2026 onwards. Read the project report below:

OUR MANIFESTO FOR CREATIVE WELLBEING

We've distilled learning from the past 2 years delivering 'DG Creative Wellbeing' project across the region, working with a variety of partners, including NHS D&G, to deliver a diverse programme of creative activities, actions and interventions. The Manifesto has distilled this knowledge into 6 key themes.

By using accessible language, engaging illustrations and layouts to communicate the themes clearly and the messages that have informed them, we hope that the Manifesto can be used as a vibrant, evidence-based foundation for future action and creativity - helping guide and anchor new creative health and wellbeing focused initiatives and strategies.

It’s not just words - the Manifesto is an agenda for change, and it is for ALL of us.