Creativity Is…
How would you complete the sentence “Creativity is…”? I would say “life-enhancing”, but there are so many possibilities. Participants in my events talk about creativity being fulfilling, freeing, cheering. I couldn’t agree more.
Year upon year, I feel Creativity & Wellbeing Week has become such an important event in the calendar – to highlight all that is happening in this growing sector, to build awareness and to open up participation. For the Week this year I’ll be organising a free Zoom taster workshop called Ready Steady Draw – open to all, anywhere in the UK or beyond, an opportunity to experiment with two or three quick art ideas and see how art can help mental health and wellbeing. Shorter art ideas can be particularly fun, mindful and practical to fit into your life. The workshop will be held on Thursday 23 May, from 1.30-2.10. Book now.
I’ll also be leading an online Creativity in the Aire group session for Well Together, on Teams, on Wednesday 22 May (1.30-3.00) – this is free too. Well Together activities are for adults aged 18 years or over, people with or without long term health conditions are welcome.
To receive the Microsoft TEAMS link for this activity please get in touch with Well Together by emailing: welltogether@bdct.nhs.uk or ringing us on: 01274 259190
I am a freelance arts for wellbeing practitioner. It will soon be 4 years since I set up Medley, my online initiative (https://medley.live/news) During this time, I’ve learned a lot, shared a lot, and found working in creative health a joyful and uplifting experience.
This last year has been no different. I’ve run five art for wellbeing challenges, on themes ranging from gardens to trees to art and craft. I’ve continued to lead a weekly creative group for Bradford District NHS Care Foundation Trust (on Teams) and to produce creative ideas for care homes and to write a regular blog.
I’m also now in an exciting new phase: I’ve been awarded Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice funding for my research and development project Paint Your Mind_.: Art As Tool. This is now underway, running from January to June 2024. My aim is to root my practice in a more specific focus on how visual art can improve mental health (as well as overall wellbeing). To this end, I’m researching possibilities, gathering views, creating new artwork and preparing to share and engage with wider audiences. I’ve run two art challenges as part of Paint Your Mind. The first, All Change( which ran throughout February) compared the impacts of abstract and figurative art – with most participants saying the abstract ideas roved particularly mindful, calming and confidence-building, while the figurative ideas were stimulating and absorbing. The second, Well Art, saw participants complete daily short art ideas on different themes, over three weeks in April.
I’ve also created two surveys, one on art and mental health in general (https://form.jotform.com/240184274130043), the other on art for older people’s mental health (https://form.jotform.com/240524523611042. It would be very helpful if anyone would like to complete these short surveys – building a varied and clear picture of art’s impacts on the ground is vital if my practice is to develop and reflect need. Thank you.
Written by Isobel Murdoch: medleymusicartnature@outlook.com
