This autumn, 10 arts, health and wellbeing projects were awarded fresh funding and support from the Arts Council of Wales.

Nature-based art to support young people with mental health problems, singing sessions for people living with Parkinson’s and their loved ones, workshops with Wales’ national poets for women living with illness, and dance and art classes for children living in chronic pain are among the projects that have recently been awarded Arts Council of Wales’ Arts, Health and Wellbeing Lottery funding.

Launched in 2021 to nurture and develop partnerships among the arts, health, social care, and third sectors, the fund supports creative projects across Wales that boost health and wellbeing. This autumn, 10 partnerships received funding to test or grow their projects. Priority was given to creative arts projects that connect people with nature, support mental health, address health inequalities, keep people active, and promote staff wellbeing.

“The Arts Council of Wales is proud of the creative work happening across the country to support our preventative care as well as treatment and rehabilitation for physical and mental ill health,” said Liz Clarke, the Arts and Health Programme Manager at Arts Council of Wales. “All of these projects represent the great cross-sector partnerships that are enabling creative projects to embed and grow across Wales.”

The transformative power of the arts and creativity to improve our health and lives is well documented. These projects, many of which bring together the arts, health and our natural environment, are further examples of how the arts can help tackle pressing health challenges, foster resilience and bring people together. 

Among the successful projects were:

  • Amethyst Ffynnon Partnership: Supporting young people aged 11-25 experiencing poor mental health in rural Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Pembrokeshire through arts and community resilience initiatives.
  • Oriel Davies Gallery: Collaborating with Powys Teaching Health Board and Open Newtown to explore the mental health benefits of nature-based arts for adults in north Powys.
  • Art and Soul Tribe: Combining nature-based creative practices with partners to support adults with mental health concerns and young people on NHS CAMHS lists in North Wales. This is the development of a previously funded project.
  • Choirs for Good: Partnering with Parkinson’s UK Cymru to pilot group singing sessions across Wales, aiming to improve voice control and emotional wellbeing for people with Parkinson’s and their families.
  • Dance to Move: Ballet Cymru collaborating with health organisations to support young people with medical conditions and their families through dance. This is the development of a previously funded project.
  • Creative Roots: Engaging people in secure units or experiencing substance misuse in creative activities to improve mental wellbeing, in partnership with Cardiff and Vale UHB and Wales Millennium Centre.
  • Literature Wales: Developing a bilingual poetry anthology and workshops highlighting women’s health issues and supporting healthcare improvements for women in Wales.
  • Hywel Dda UHB Pathway: Creating an arts referral pathway in Ceredigion, advancing a Social Model of Health and Wellbeing.
  • Gwynedd Arts Pilot: Testing the effectiveness of arts as a preventative intervention for 16-25-year-olds in partnership with Frân Wen, Bangor University, and Bodnant Surgery.
  • Swansea Bay UHB Sharing Hope: Providing staff with creative spaces for healing and connection through arts-based activities.

The Arts, Health, and Wellbeing Lottery fund is accepting new applications until 22 January 2025.

Image credit: Tim Arterbury