My Picks – Lucy, Social Media Volunteer

I’ve been running the Instagram page @londonartsandhealth for three years now. This is my third Creativity and Wellbeing Week and I’ve watched the Week transform from a collection of mainly in-person events into a more virtual week due to Covid. I’m so proud of how everyone involved has adapted the Week to keep making these wonderful events available at a time when we need them more than ever.

It’s hard to narrow down the events I would like to attend as they all look amazing and there is such an interesting variety, but my top three would be:
Arts & Health Hub Conference on Care
Watercolour classes from the comfort of home
Our Positive Futures 

During lockdown, creative activities have been a real source of support and comfort for me, a chance to learn something new, as well as a way of getting away from the negative news and clearing my head. My activities include buying a beginner’s pottery kit, making jewellery, building a terrarium and attempting (not very successfully) to teach myself the ukulele! I spent a lot of time doing creative activities when I was younger but had lost that as an adult, and this past year I’ve had the chance to rediscover it.

Lockdown has been a struggle, and the negatives easily outweigh the positives, but it has been a chance to get away from the noise of everyday life and take a bit more time to myself. I have been working from home since March last year and have very much adapted to the lifestyle. You spend so much time rushing around normally and it takes everything slowing down to bring you some time to quietly reflect on yourself and your wellbeing. I’ve learnt that taking time for yourself is very beneficial, and a weekend or an evening doesn’t have to be wasted if you spend it at home recharging your batteries and doing things you enjoy, rather than being busy every second! I hope to bring these lessons with me when normal life resumes.