Mapping of Initiatives on Culture, Health and Well-being

Ex Cathedra developed an initiative Singing Pathways to bring the therapeutic and well-being benefits of singing to stroke patients, by working weekly at the Stroke Unit of Solihull Hospital. Using specially developed ways of engaging and enabling participants to sing, the sessions enable many stroke patients who are unable to speak, to sing. Some patients also seem to have their speech liberated for a short period after a session. The project has become a very important part of the week on the Stroke Unit for patients and staff, with staff even occasionally changing a diagnosis from participating with and observing the patients during the singing sessions.

Beating Time run three prison programmes aimed at helping people put prison behind them and build lives they want to live, improving mental health, building social inclusion, finding and creating employment for people serving sentences. Through Choirs Beating Time, they create prison choirs that serve their communities whilst preserving mental health. People who feel excluded and have poor mental health cannot find, or make, work. they run an in-prison recruitment consultancy, Inside Job. The third programme Upstart, helps entrepreneurial prisoners play to their strengths.

Arts Together is a group of arts and community organisations who are working together to ensure that the arts in Leeds and beyond are as welcoming and accessible as possible to groups of people who might usually have barriers to engaging with them.
Art Doctors is an Arts Together initiative through which are created a series of short films that showcase the activities from their Toolkit for Gallery Visits, a silly and irreverent take on making art galleries more fun for grown ups. Together with the Leeds Art Gallery community and the Arts and Minds Network, Art Doctors have been wearing art specs and slippers, finding places to sleep, writing stories, making mini-sculptures and listening to music. The films are aimed at people who may not feel comfortable in cultural institutions, or who may not feel ownership of them, and there are now 11 short films to to watch on YouTube. The Art Doctors hope the films will encourage people to visit galleries again now that they are open, and to experience the buildings and the art works.

Arts Together is a group of arts and community organisations who are working together to ensure that the arts in Leeds and beyond are as welcoming and accessible as possible to groups of people who might usually have barriers to engaging with them.
They propose an initiative called Time to Read, encouraging people to read to reduce stress and anxiety and to take some time to relax in the space of Central Library. They are encouraging people to bring their own books or to borrow one from the inspiring displays.

Arts Uplift CIC is a not for profit Community Interest Company. Arts Uplift specialises in arts and health and heritage and works with a wide range of the community from children and young people to older people from across Worcestershire, Coventry and Warwickshire. It also uses a wide range of exciting arts in its projects from storytelling to dance to music etc. It aims to use inspirational arts to enhance the physical and mental well-being of its participants and also teaches people about their local heritage as well as preserving it.
Arts Uplift is delivering an online choir for older people and people living with dementia and their carers . It’s being delivered by the Claire Fowler and participants sing familiar songs as well as learning new songs. The sessions are recorded. They perceive a tax for participants.

Arts Uplift CIC is a not for profit Community Interest Company. Arts Uplift specialises in arts and health and heritage and works with a wide range of the community from children and young people to older people from across Worcestershire, Coventry and Warwickshire. It also uses a wide range of exciting arts in its projects from storytelling to dance to music etc. It aims to use inspirational arts to enhance the physical and mental well-being of its participants and also teaches people about their local heritage as well as preserving it.
Arts and Dementia Warwickshire is a new arts programme for people living with dementia and their carers living in Warwickshire in the community, in In Patient wards and also in care homes. It has been commissioned by Warwickshire County Council. It will be a varied programme for 1.5 years including singing, performance poetry, arts and crafts, dance/movement, storytelling and reminiscence therapy. Alongside this there will be some training for care staff as well.

Arts Uplift CIC is a not for profit Community Interest Company. Arts Uplift specialises in arts and health and heritage and works with a wide range of the community from children and young people to older people from across Worcestershire, Coventry and Warwickshire. It also uses a wide range of exciting arts in its projects from storytelling to dance to music etc. It aims to use inspirational arts to enhance the physical and mental well-being of its participants and also teaches people about their local heritage as well as preserving it.
One of their projects is Love Music Leamington through which they offer 9 weekly singing sessions with Claire Fowler, suitable for older people including those living with dementia. For participants there is an hour of singing and also a chance to socialise over a cup of tea and a biscuit. They perceive a monthly tax for participants.

Age Cymru is the national charity for older people in Wales and their mission is to make life better for older people. Gwanwyn is a month-long national festival held across Wales in May each year celebrating creativity in older age. After the pandemic period, Gwanwyn is back in 2022. Gwanwyn means spring in Welsh, and celebrates older age as a time of opportunity for renewal, growth and creativity. The aim is to offer opportunities for greater participation by older people in the arts, whether visual arts, drama, storytelling, music, literature, photography, dance or film. The festival offers opportunities for older people to become involved in arts and creative activities either as practitioners, organisers or audience members. Gwanwyn also helps older people to recognise the benefits that being creative can bring to their health and well-being. It also challenges preconceived and stereotypical ideas of ageing and older people and, at the same time, encourage artists throughout Wales to reflect the lives of older people and the communities in which they live.

Age Cymru is the national charity for older people in Wales and their mission is to make life better for older people. cARTrefu is Age Cymru’s flagship arts in care homes project that has been running since 2015. The aim of the project is to improve the provision of creative activity in care homes and develop artist’s skills in running these sessions and for care home staff to gain more confidence and acquire new skills, sharing and practicing arts in their daily work with residents. cARTrefu has now grown to become the largest project of its kind in Europe. cARTrefu is fostering a greater appreciation of the arts among care home staff as they work with the artists.

Air Arts is a wide ranging and ambitious arts in health programme, designed in partnership with staff and patients at Derby Teaching Hospitals. Air Arts is the arts charity for Derby Teaching Hospitals promoting health and wellbeing through the arts and arts participation. Air Arts was established in 2007 with the aim of create a calm and welcoming environment, providing support and reassurance for patients, staff and visitors, enhancing the environment and providing moments of reflection and distraction. They do this by bringing art, dance, drama, poetry, storytelling, crafts and music onto the corridors, waiting areas and wards at the Royal Derby and London Road Community Hospitals, working closely with staff and patients to provide personalised creative activities, supporting relationships and improving patient and staff experience. The programme aims to distract from illness, improve wellbeing, aid recovery and enhance the hospital experience for 9,000 staff and 2 million patients and visitors every year.