The UK State of the Sector Survey was conducted between February and April 2023, to help understand more about the creative health sector in the UK. It was conducted as a collaboration between CHWA; the Wales Arts, Health & Wellbeing Network; Arts Health & Wellbeing Scotland; and Arts Care (Northern Ireland). 

Pippa Jones, CG’s founder and director was speaking at the Culture, Health & Wellbeing (CHWP) Alliance Conference in Barnsley as part of a panel convened to discuss how arts organisations and the health sector can work better together.

Find out more about the Off we Go project and the impact joining in with the activities had on those taking part.

This is the question that sits behind our Create Health strand - a series of test projects to develop and understand how to live well.  Our experience in Gloucestershire and evidence drawn from practice across the UK and internationally, confirms that arts, creativity and culture are a fundamental part of living well.

Gloucestershire Creative Health Consortium’s composed a paper documenting their responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, and subsequent lockdown periods from 23rd March 2020 to 19th July 2021. This paper includes observations and experiences from consortium partner organisations, delivering artist facilitators and individuals who accessed Creative Health over this time and is available to download now.

Over the last year (both pre and post covid!) Ruth Davey has been running mindful photography courses across Gloucestershire to improve the mental health of the participants. This mindful approach to photography uses a blend of photography, mindfulness and being in nature to slow down, reduce stress and relieve anxiety and depression.

We were delighted to be part of the Arts & Health South West Conference in November 2020 and to be part of this podcast series of stories recorded on the day. The stories speak of the incredible challenges experienced during the last year from the Hospital, Medical School, & Care Home, as well as amazing examples of how artists & the cultural sector rose to those challenges

Collaborating with the University of Gloucestershire fashion design course, ex students, lecturers and course leaders, ACP, Create Gloucestershire, Dressing for Medics, and Emma Willis we quickly mobilised an efficient and skilled set of volunteers who could cut, sew, pack and deliver garments to approved NHS standards and fit.