CreateSpace was a two-year partnership project of five cultural organisations across the West Midlands, working with art practitioners, to improve participant wellbeing.
New, innovative, arts engagement activities were provided to encourage adults to create space for art/creativity in their lives, to improve their wellbeing. The majority of participants highlighted mental health issues as well as social isolation as their reasons for joining the project. The project had significant impacts on all participants, who valued the engagement with the arts/artists, and importance of connecting with others, including during the pandemic when all activity shifted to digital.
The challenge
There is considerable evidence that engaging in art activities can improve wellbeing, however engagement with arts is not universal and so there are many people who do not benefit.
Access to high-quality arts activities, led by experienced artists/practitioners, is often costly, and for those with mental health difficulties, can be daunting. For artists themselves, space to reflect and share their experiences of wellbeing-focused practice is rare and often unfunded.
Creative Health CIC, an arts/health organisation, had partnered with cultural organisations previously and wanted to expand their reach to new partners and new participants, building on their experience of creating welcoming and relaxed atmospheres where participants could gain confidence, build connections and try arts activities, all with the aim of using creativity for wellbeing.
Five cultural partners in the West Midlands, including Birmingham Museums, joined Creative Health in a two-year project. The project was designed to run through face-to-face sessions, delivered in museums/galleries and libraries across the region. At the core of the project was the idea of connecting physically with others, with art and with new spaces - all known to improve wellbeing. The first year of the project was delivered in this way with regular artist-led workshops. The second year of the project coincided with the start of the Covid pandemic, forcing all partners to shift online and to create new ways of working.
It was felt to be essential to continue the project during lockdown, rather than cancel or postpone, as the first year had highlighted the benefits of art and connection for participants’ wellbeing. With Covid and lockdown creating a worsening of mental health in so many, and increasing isolation, the project became more essential. As with so much arts engagement, there were few models for online engagement and so each partner tested a different approach.
The solution
To increase arts engagement, workshops with artists were offered at very low cost, aimed at adults who may not have taken part in any art activity before. Each workshop was led by the artist along with a practitioner whose role was to encourage connection, wellbeing and welcome to the space. The same artist ran several workshops in a block, to build a relationship with participants and to grow in confidence.
Workshops were offered in museums, historic venues, galleries and libraries – all spaces that were new to many of the participants and gave unique access to the sites and their collections. Sessions were informal and relaxed but provided a high-quality experience. Activities were designed by the artist to be continued between sessions with little equipment needed, to empower engagement and grow confidence. ‘Art Cards’ of new activities as well as sketchbooks were provided free.
When lockdown was introduced, all projects were shifted online – via Facebook, email or WhatsApp groups – and offered to all previous participants. At Birmingham Museums, a WhatsApp group was created, open to anyone who had attended a session at a Birmingham venue in year 1. An artist, as well as a Birmingham Museums engagement practitioner, joined each group, to create the same sense of connection and welcome online. The artist created and shared an art activity every week for a year, with participants taking part at home and sharing photos of their work.
The impact
Evaluation of the project highlighted impacts for the participants, the artists, and the partner organisations. Participants valued the time and space that in-person sessions offered them to be creative, and spoke of increased confidence in their abilities, as well as appreciating the quality and variety of artistic stimuli they were given – something that was hard to find elsewhere. The opportunity given to focus on making and doing for a few hours was commented on as creating a sense of relaxation and calm that lasted beyond the sessions. Individually, participants spoke of the impact on their wellbeing and mental health, talking of how the confidence and space they had been given impacted on reduction in medication, self-belief and changes to their lives.
The connections made within groups were highlighted by the level of support that participants – who had not known each other before the sessions – gave one another. There was a collective and sensitive awareness of one another and a sense of support that grew in each group.
Participants valued the space for art and creativity and the majority spoke of developing a commitment to, and confidence in, their own artistic practice. Making time for creativity, and therefore letting go of daily worries, created wellbeing beyond the sessions.
When activity shifted online, the sense of connection, and ‘permission’ to be creative continued. The WhatsApp group allowed for both creative and personal/emotional discussion and support at a time when people were feeling increasingly disconnected.
“I have had the most amazing day; can’t say how much joy this has brought to my day and so much inspiration.”
“Thoroughly enjoyable. Relaxing. Feel like the encouragement is there, not feel like being judged or critiqued but simply nurtured. A two-hour oasis of calm!”
How is the new approach being sustained?
To ensure a legacy for the artists involved, the project funding included regular, paid, reflection sessions for artist/practitioners to support development of their artistic practice, ensuring that learning was not lost. All cultural partner organisations also met regularly to share learning and reflect on challenges.
At Birmingham Museums, we are committed to continuing to use art/creativity for wellbeing. A new Arts Club has been set up, providing free artist-led sessions for adults or children. New partnerships with Birmingham Centre for Arts Therapies are being established, to build on the direct connection between creativity and wellbeing and provide further activities.
During the pandemic, with the permission of the artists, activities from the in-person and digital programme were adapted – resources were created that were shared online and with other wellbeing groups, to encourage creative wellbeing practices widely.
All the cultural partners involved are committed to continuing this work. A new project has been created, extending the creative wellbeing approach to the use of nature and green spaces for wellbeing, and we are awaiting the results of a funding bid. This will allow further low-cost, accessible, activity for adults to support their wellbeing, as well as the development of further learning and reflection for all partners involved.
Lessons learned
There is a need for low-cost, accessible art activity for adults. Opportunities for those who are already arts-engaged are more readily available but for those lacking in confidence or disengaged, there is little provision. Activity specifically aimed at increasing wellbeing (as opposed to increasing art skills) is also rare and requires different skills from the artists and staff involved.
High quality, artist-led activity, is highly valued and has a significant impact on self-belief, creativity beyond the workshops, and on wellbeing.
Personal connection and welcome have a significant impact on the success of programmes using creativity for wellbeing. CreateSpace was staff-intensive with each session involving an artist, a BMT engagement practitioner, and often also a cultural producer. However this level of quality support allowed for the significant impact. Changes to staffing, lack of consistency, or practitioners without the appropriate skills can therefore have a negative response, particularly with participants with mental health issues.
Digital activity works. Providing well-thought-out activity via email/Facebook/WhatsApp allows for connection with those who cannot physically collect to cultural organisations.
Contact
Rosie Barker, Senior Engagement Officer, Birmingham Museums Trust, email: [email protected]