The Arts Council of Wales has developed a new website that aims to use the restorative power of the arts to support the wellbeing of healthcare workers in Wales.
The Cultural Cwtsh is full of creative ideas and fun activities and is designed to lift spirits and boost the wellbeing of staff working across the NHS and the Social Care sectors in Wales.
Through short, accessible videos, in Welsh and English, professional artists from across Wales bring alive a whole range of different creative activities that include craft, painting, writing, drawing, dancing, singing, film and photography.
You can follow the tutorials and:
- Learn how to transform a used tube of tomato puree into gold art with artist, Emma Jones
- Venture outside with artist, Helen Malia, and try your hand at making a wreath, mandala, or garden obelisk
- Sing your heart out and grow your voice with musicians, Laura Bradshaw /Iori Haugen
- De-stress with dance artist, Beth Meadway, and discover some new moves
- Join writer, Sian Northey, for a series of short creative writing exercises designed to fit around a busy day
- Grab your camera and discover how to create photo stories with nurse-turned-artist, Sarah Featherstone
- Develop a sketching habit with artist, Tim Taylor-Beales, as he shows you how to draw portraits
The Cwtsh has been created by the Arts Council of Wales with funding support from Welsh Government. It is part of an ongoing programme of partnership work in the field of Arts and Health which aims to raise awareness of the wellbeing benefits of engaging in the arts. The Cwtsh has been designed in partnership and consultation with Health Education Improvement Wales (HEIW), Social Care Wales, the Welsh NHS Confederation, the Arts and Health Coordinators within each Health Board as well as focus groups of healthcare workers.
The Cultural Cwtsh can be accessed here: http://culturalcwtsh.wales
Sally Lewis, Portfolio Manager and Arts & Health lead at Arts Council of Wales said:
“The Cultural Cwtsh is a direct response to the very significant challenges and pressures Healthcare staff have faced throughout the pandemic. Many continue to experience exhaustion and stress and are recovering from burn-out and trauma. The Cwtsh aims to use creativity to boost staff wellbeing by providing comfort, fun, distraction, solace, relaxation, stimulation, an outlet for expression as well as opportunities for people to learn a new skill.”
“We have aimed to create a resource that is as extraordinary as the healthcare staff they are designed for and the content will evolve and be refreshed in response to staff feedback. We hope that a wide range of people working in healthcare will enjoy discovering their own creativity through the Cultural Cwtsh.”