A series of innovative arts and health projects run across Wales during the height of the pandemic have sparked recommendations this Creativity and Wellbeing Week (16-22 May) for how art can take a leading role in creating ‘A Healthier Wales’.
Singing for dementia, creative writing to support addiction recovery and arts sessions for mental health inpatients were among 13 projects funded and supported by HARP (Health, Arts, Research, People) - a research and innovation partnership between the Arts Council of Wales, Cardiff University’s Y Lab and innovation foundation Nesta. All of the projects were collaborations between artists, community-based health and care organisations, local authorities and/or local health boards.
Long waiting lists for addiction support in Welsh-speaking areas of North Wales, for example, prompted the artist Iola Ynyr to partner with Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru and Literature Wales to start Ar Y Dibyn (‘On The Edge’) and develop it into a national programme. The Welsh language project uses creative writing and other art forms to support people experiencing addiction and has been working with counsellors, Substance Misuse Services and housing associations, among others, to help people access support in a different way.
As HARP ends, the experiences and impact of projects like Ar Y Dibyn have informed a comprehensive set of recommendations for Wales’ policy and decision-makers, as well as health care leaders, researchers and investors, aimed at securing greater support for creative and innovative approaches within Wales’ future health and care system.
Among the recommendations, published by HARP, is a call for the arts to become as central to plans for ‘A Healthier Wales’ as sport currently is. HARP also recommends policymakers identify and fund collaboration between arts and health bodies on key issues, such as mental health; social prescribing1; and supporting the wellbeing of health and care staff.
The HARP teams have also co-designed a model for innovation in arts and health, called ‘the HARP Approach’, which is designed to empower those running art and health projects to ask for and access the support they need to thrive.
1 Social prescribing involves health professionals referring people to community-based, non-clinical services to support their health and wellbeing.
Rosie Dow, programme manager at Nesta Cymru, said: “Despite the challenges of the past two years, the projects we’ve worked with have brought some amazing ideas and partnerships to life, giving us a glimpse of what’s possible if organisations work together to innovate.
“If we want a healthier Wales we now need funders, health and care leaders, and policymakers to recognise the potential of these projects and ensure they receive the investment and support they need to grow and reach more people.”
Sally Lewis, Programme Manager for Arts, Health and Wellbeing at the Arts Council of Wales said: “Our investment in Arts & Health projects over many years has provided powerful evidence that the arts have a central role to play in supporting people’s health and wellbeing. And the pandemic has underlined just how relevant and necessary creative opportunities are as a source of self-expression, comfort, fun, social connection, relaxation, stimulation as well as solace.
“The HARP Programme has responded to current health challenges in dynamic, exciting and innovative ways, resulting in a distinct approach, rich learning and a number of important recommendations emerging. We look forward to working with our partners in Health to explore how we can jointly respond to ensure that everyone in Wales can benefit from the health and wellbeing benefits that the arts can offer.”
Nesta Lloyd–Jones, Assistant Director, Welsh NHS Confederation, said: “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the arts have played a critical role in supporting the health and wellbeing of people in Wales, as highlighted by these HARP-supported projects.
“Across the health and care system there is a growing understanding that access to arts opportunities and participation in the arts can dramatically improve health outcomes and wellbeing, counter inequalities and increase social engagement.
“NHS leaders recognise that creativity and the arts need to be part of the solution in helping tackle the indirect health consequences of COVID-19, now and in the future, and we must work with partners across all sectors to enable person-centred care to be provided.”
James Lewis, Director of Cardiff University’s Y Lab, said: “The combination of high quality research and genuine creativity often leads to innovation that can positively impact people’s lives, and this approach is exemplified by HARP.
“We have worked alongside the teams, health leaders and participants during their HARP innovation process to support their use of appropriate research and evaluation methods. And our HARP Public Involvement and Patient Experience in Research (PIPER) group has provided a strong service-user voice to inform our research design and guide our impact in a safe and inclusive space.
“We believe the HARP approach allows space for greater creativity and innovation in the way our health systems frame their challenges and try to create solutions.”
A series of HARP online sharing events this week will explore how to generate, grow and learn about creative innovations that support people’s health and wellbeing in Wales. Anyone interested in participating can register online here.
For more information, or interview opportunities, please contact Iwan Llwyd, Communications Officer at the Arts Council of Wales on iwan.llwyd@arts.wales or Leah
Oatway, communications coordinator for HARP, on leah_oatway@hotmail.com.
HARP’s online resources, along with all of the projects’ stories, can be found at www.healthartsresearch.wales from 16 May 2022.
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Notes to editors:
About HARP (Health, Arts, Research, People)
HARP - Health, Arts, Research, People - explored how to generate, grow and learn about impactful creative innovations that support the health and wellbeing of the people of Wales. It was an innovation and research partnership between Arts Council of Wales, Nesta and Cardiff University’s ‘Y Lab’.
We sought to learn more about how we could meet these opportunities and challenges, combining grant funding with network building, coaching and research for arts and health innovators. This was done with support from Nesta’s People Powered Results team, the Wales Arts, Health and Wellbeing Network and the Welsh NHS Confederation.
About Y Lab
Y Lab is the Public Services Innovation Lab for Wales. Led by Cardiff University, Y Lab combines innovation methods and mindsets with social science research to meet societal challenges.
About Arts Council of Wales
The Arts Council of Wales is the country’s official public body for funding and developing the arts. Every day, people across Wales are enjoying and taking part in the arts. We help to support and grow this activity. We do this by using the public funds that are made available to us by the Welsh Government and by distributing the money we receive as a good cause from the National Lottery. By managing and investing these funds in creative activity, the Arts Council contributes to people’s quality of life and to the cultural, social and economic wellbeing of Wales.
About Nesta
Nesta is the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest problems. Nesta Cymru exists to significantly improve the lives of tens of thousands of people in Wales. Our three missions are to give every child a fair start, help people live healthy lives, and create a sustainable future where the economy works for both people and the planet. The Nesta Cymru team develops and delivers mission-focused work unique to Wales, finding places where devolution allows us to go further and faster in achieving our aims.
About the Welsh NHS Confederation
The Welsh NHS Confederation is the only national membership body representing all the organisations making up the NHS in Wales. We represent the seven local Health Boards, three NHS trusts, Health Education and Improvement Wales and Digital Health and Care Wales. We are part of the NHS Confederation and host NHS Wales Employers.
HARP PROJECT SUMMARIES
More information about these projects is available on request.
Ar y Dibyn (‘On the Edge’)
A Theatr Genedlaethol-led partnership delivering Welsh language creative workshops as part of recovery provision for groups of people with substance dependency, in a mix of online and face-to-face settings. The project is supported by the North Wales Area Planning Board for Substance Misuse, Literature Wales, Adra (Tai) with referral and support by Adferiad Recovery, Stafell Fyw (Living Room), Shelter Cymru, Abbey Road Centre and many more.
Digital Threads
An online music and poetry programme aimed at keeping inpatients with dementia at St David’s Hospital in Cardiff cognitively active and socially connected during the pandemic. This was a partnership between Forget Me Not Chorus, artists Louise Osborn and Emma Jenkins, and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. The lives of all participants has been reflected, honoured and celebrated in song, poetry and visual art.
Creative Options
A partnership between Arts Care Gofal Celf and Hywel Dda University Health Board to deliver a range of creative activities to adults in Carmarthenshire living with mental health challenges, who are in inpatient services and supported living or residential care settings.
Art Well
A collaboration between SPAN Arts, Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services (PAVS), PAVS’ community connectors, Pembrokeshire Council, and Hywel Dda University Health Board’s research, innovation and improvement coordination hub aimed at building resilience of isolated individuals and communities in Pembrokeshire through a remote choir, online community theatre (Theatr Soffa) and writing for wellbeing sessions.
Arts and Health Programme, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board A partnership between Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, Gwent Arts in Health, Head4Arts and individual practitioners to deliver various creative activities focused on mental health for different groups, including young people and the bereaved, through which the team explored how to embed arts in the health board. They have developed the board’s first art strategy.
Cystic Fibrosis Voices
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board partnered with Four in Four to deliver interactive online arts sessions for people with cystic fibrosis, as well as staff, with several motivations, including to find ways the creative arts could reframe future cystic fibrosis services, assisting people living with the condition and staff responding to changing care dynamics.
HARBWR
HARBWR built on partnerships between Swansea Bay University Health Board, artists, art organisations, third sector and local councils to develop and test a new arts-on-prescription model in the area. It also sparked the launch of a cross-disciplinary arts and health forum with the Wales Arts, Health and Wellbeing Network.
Joio
A multi-partnership project between dance organisation Impelo, Powys Teaching Health Board and Dementia Matters Powys to develop and build the evidence around ‘Joio’, a co designed online dance programme for older people living with memory issues and their carers, supporting them to stay active and maintain social connectivity.
Seren
Seren was a multi-partnership HARP Nourish project between Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board and arts partners Tanio, Sue Hunt, Glen Manby and Uschi Turoczy. It used creativity to address trauma and disorientation of older people recovering from Covid 19 in the field hospital and then in the community. The team also worked with healthcare staff to bring creativity for wellbeing.
Spark
The partnership between Re-Live, Bridgend County Council, and Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations connected older adults experiencing isolation and loneliness to a new creative community online. It worked alongside people living with complex mental health conditions, dementia and addiction.
Creative First Aid Kit
Denbighshire County Council, Denbighshire Leisure and artists Mari Gwent and Steffan Donnelly co-produced a sustainable and innovative arts resource for frontline care staff to bring creativity and positivity to their daily routines.
Doing the Write Thing
Health Education and Improvement Wales partnered with freelance artists, Ali Goolyad and Eric Ngalle Charles, to discover the stories of the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of Black NHS healthcare workers, healthcare students and trainees in Wales.
Messages of Hope
A partnership between New Pathways and freelance artists Matilda Tonkin Wells and Jain Boon to build the resilience of rape and sexual abuse survivors in Wales, keep them connected during pandemic-related lockdowns, and encourage survivors in Mid and West Wales to access New Pathways’ services and support.