Are we preventing illness as well as we could do?
Could arts and culture support a shift away from cure, towards prevention?
If something is prevented from happening, how do you prove that?
Pippa Jones CG, second left, and Naomi Draper GL4 , middle at the Creative Health APPG .
These important questions were the focus of a thought provoking Creative Health APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) held on March 25th 2025 that CG was asked to present at.
An APPG is an informal group that includes people from all political parties. They are run by and for Members of the House of Commons and Lords but can invite individuals and organisations from outside Parliament to inform their thinking.
The Creative Health APPG is chaired by Dr Simon Opher, MP for Stroud District. Simon is a passionate advocate for arts and health- CG has worked alongside him and many talented artists and organisations to build up a dynamic and inclusive arts and health offer in the county. With steady support from the NHS and the local authority, this achievement is something Gloucestershire has a national reputation for.
It was deeply inspiring to hear insights from each of the contributors to the APPG, carefully curated by Alex Coulter, Director of the National Centre for Creative Health. https://ncch.org.uk/ Each contributor gave a different perspective, based on varied lived and learned experience. A full transcript can be read here.
The key points to share from the APPG:
Prevention is everyone's business- the things that determine how healthy we are cover a multitude of systems- health, housing, education, employment, transport and access to nature. So we need to collaborate effectively to embed prevention. And this isn’t easy in a competitive system with tight resources.
Prevention is not a service that can be done “to” a person or a community. It needs to flourish from within. This takes micro funding to seed emerging ideas and capacity, based on trust - proportional bureaucracy so that creative ideas and energy aren’t stifled by paperwork.
Prevention isn’t just about practical needs- it also is about belonging, safety and equity. To quote the opening statement at the APPG from Professor Marmot- “The opposite of poverty isn’t wealth but justice” This is why at Create Glos we believe the arts are so crucial- because they give voice, shape, movement, sound and colour to the reality of peoples lives as well as vision of a different future- a window to dreams and ambitions.
Naomi Draper, a member of Culture Matson and CEO and Artistic Director of GL4, attended the APPG with CG. She is a resident of Matson and described growing up on the estate which has a very well established community sector who work closely together to address the issues that result from being in the top 10% of deprived areas in the UK. Naomi was honest about her struggles with her mental health and the positive impact arts and culture have had on her in the last ten years.
Prior to GL4 and Culture Matson there was no arts and culture on the Matson estate, something Naomi is committed to changing alongside other creative enterprises including GASP, Strike A Light, The Venture, Read with Me, and Matson Library. The arts are now as easily accessible as other activities like sport on the estate, including White City and Robinswood supporting connection, skills building and growing individual and community pride.
CG’s involvement with arts and health was kickstarted by a provocation in 2011, posed by Gordon Scott, Director of Prema Arts Centre. “What if arts and culture were prescribed as readily as drugs and surgery to prevent and treat illness? “
The context was a meeting in 2011 to agree a set of 8 Manifesto Pledges, that form the foundation stones of CG - a powerful and shared statement of intent of why arts and culture matter and the value they bring to Gloucestershire.
Since then deep collaborative approaches have enabled an arts and health ecosystem to flourish to offer a multitude of art forms and practices to support health and well being to people living in Gloucestershire. Create Gloucestershire is the connective tissue across different contributors- some who deliver arts and culture- others who are more concerned with its governance and management.
Gloucestershire Creative Health Consortium, a consortium of 5 arts organisations routinely funded to offer non-medical interventions to people diagnosed with a medical condition.
2 Community Chests offering micro grants to community centred arts and culture. Culture Matson Community Chest, serving the Matson, Robinswood and White City ward- and Cam and Dursley Creatives Community Chest for residents in Cam and Dursley.
Research to co-design a Glos based professional development programme and career pathway for artists and practitioners wishing to deliver Creative Health work, building on the national State of the Sector report. The Future Talent steering group with University of Glos, Art Shape, Artlift, Open Arms Artists’ Collective, Create Gloucestershire and the NHS have delivered a series of creative labs, on-line survey and focus groups to help understand what training and support is needed to develop a career in arts and health and remove any barriers. The findings of the consultation, and recommendations for working towards a diverse, skilled and well supported Creative Health practitioner workforce will be launched in May 2025.
Cultural Commissioning Board Gloucestershire that builds commitment to arts and health, drawing together evidence through a county wide dataset and personal testimonies and stories.
Community-led place based creative alliances that unlock energy and resources for art, culture and creativity as residents work out together how to grow fairer health in their communities.
If you want to hear regular updates about arts and health across Gloucestershire sign up to our newsletter here and/or attend meetings at our Community-led place based creative alliances .