Health and wellbeing

The danger of burnout is growing as arts and culture become increasingly central to regeneration agendas.

Human resources

Cross artform

Supporting artists

Music has ‘critical role’ to play in reimaging healthcare

18 Apr 2022

Recommendations in a new study include a Power of Music Commissioner, a cross-governmental taskforce and music education modules for healthcare workers.

Cultural commissioning

Music

Older people

Helpline to stamp out harassment in music industry

28 Mar 2022

The service aims to address a gap in support for freelance workers who lack recourse to HR departments.

Music

Supporting artists

Older people: culture, community, connection

23 Mar 2022

What’s the impact of cultural participation in later life, and how do we capture its value? Helen Manchester explores what the research tells us.

NI care home project reached 900 people

09 Mar 2022

900 older people benefitted from an Arts Council of Northern Ireland programme in care homes last year.

The funder reports the fifth iteration of its scheme helped reduce isolation and loneliness and promote mental wellbeing. About half of the programme's projects delivered at least some of their work online, making it more widely available than it had been previously.

First piloted in 2009, it is a core National Lottery-funded programme worth £109,000 in 2021 and more than £2m over its lifespan.

"We know that taking part in arts activities can raise self-esteem, confidence and motivation, as well as help to relieve stress, worries and pain," Arts Programme Officer Lorraine Calderwood said.

An evaluation report this week demonstrates the scheme's positive effects and the "swift, innovative thinking" of those who delivered it, Calderwood added.

Bluecoat recognised for dementia arts project

09 Mar 2022

Liverpool arts centre Bluecoat has been recognised for a partnership that delivered arts sessions via video call during the lockdowns.

Bluecoat and Belong, a dementia care provider, won the Creative Arts Award at the Third Sector Care Awards 2022. Their lauded project enhanced participant's cognitive capacity and increased their sense of community.

Where the Arts Belong has run since 2019, but participation was widened during the pandemic. Artists worked with residents of Belong villages to explore storytelling, sculpture, dance and sound.

"It really is a win for all our customers and Bluecoat’s commissioned artists," Belong Interim Chief Executive Stacey McCann said.

A Where the Arts Belong exhibition will open at Bluecoat later this month.

How to remain inclusive while living with Covid

22 Feb 2022

Opinion

Andrew Miller says arts organisations must work with disabled artists to keep them safe amid the very real risks the Government's plan poses to their health.

Scottish Ballet extends health and wellbeing classes

07 Feb 2022

Scottish Ballet has committed to a five-year extension of its health and wellbeing programme.

The dance company offers classes across Scotland for people living with long term conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and Dementia.

Scottish Ballet’s Director of Engagement Catherine Cassidy said support from investment company Baillie Gifford will help develop the programme, which has run since 2015.

More than a million Scots live with neurological conditions. Studies show taking part in regular dance classes can improve balance, fatigue and cognitive performance.

Learning to breathe

02 Feb 2022

Arts People

The winner of the Women in Social Enterprise Award, Yvonne Farquharson, reflects on setting up her own company creating arts programmes to improve health and wellbeing.

Cross artform

Leadership

World voices sing up

Richard Frostick delivers singing workshops for children in India.

25 Jan 2022

Children and young people

There’s widespread acknowledgement of the positive impact of singing on health and wellbeing. Celi Barberia outlines how a groundbreaking project is sharing these benefits with children from across the world.

Music

International

New music industry helpline to launch

25 Jan 2022

A helpline for music industry workers facing bullying and harassment will go live in March.

Service providers Help Musicians developed the idea after The Musicians Union received hundreds of reports of workplace bullying and harassment through its SafeSpace service.

The anonymous helpline will offer emotional support, guidance on how to raise and resolve the issue, and advice on rights and avenues for formal action.

Industry leaders, including UK Music CEO Jamie Njoku-Goodwin and Musicians Union Deputy General Secretary Naomi Pohl, have welcomed the service.

“The music industry must take a united approach and keep working to bring about lasting change to ensure every workplace is a truly welcoming and inclusive place for everyone,” Njoku-Goodwin said.

Emotional resilience is the key skill for 2022

Community and peer support can be essential to a resilient team

19 Jan 2022

Opinion

While many arts and culture organisations are concerned about their financial viability, emotional resilience will also be essential to seeing out the pandemic, argues Robin Cantrill-Fenwick.

January challenge

Hands showing how to make the word 'together' in Makaton

05 Jan 2022

Last year, more than 50,000 people took part in a creative challenge. Now the invitation to rise to the January challenge is open again. Michaela Tranfield has the details.

Missing voices in culture, health and wellbeing research

25 Nov 2021

In recent years, cultural practitioners have been working in ever more challenging health and social care spaces. Robyn Dowlen looks at how their experiences are represented in the research literature.

Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan leans into wellbeing

18 Nov 2021

Children and young people

Children’s mental health will be a “very high priority” under a new blueprint for cross-curriculum creativity.

Scotland

From cultural participation to cultural ownership

10 Nov 2021

Many organisations seek to put community at the heart of their work. But Maddy Mills asks why is it important and what does it actually look like for day-to-day business?

Participatory arts

Cross artform

'A contemporary horror story'

04 Nov 2021

How do artists engage with people living with dementia? Stephen Higgins, Electra Perivolaris and Nina Swann share their different perspectives on a new project.

Theatre bodies update anti-discrimination principles

01 Nov 2021

UK Theatre and Society of London Theatre (SOLT) have updated their ten principles for creating safe and inclusive working spaces in theatre.

First launched in 2017, the principles were created largely in response to the #MeToo movement.

They have now been updated to cover discrimination across all protected characteristics, asking theatres to prevent racism and all other forms of discrimination and bias.

Head of UK Theatre and Workforce Development Sebastian Cater says the pandemic has provided an opportunity to examine old practices and create a more inclusive culture in theatres.

“It’s so encouraging to have the support of our members and boards as well as the main unions and trade bodies in disseminating and upholding the new Principles. Together we can make them become industry standard.”

Data are cultural: what does that mean for understanding well-being?

26 Oct 2021

For thousands of years philosophers have asked: ‘What makes for the good society?’, or ‘the good life?’ Susan Oman revisits these questions, asking how data help us understand - differently.

Research

Data