Weave | Gwehyddu Arts & Mental Health Conference Timetable
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Lynne Neagle, Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Lynne Neagle is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician and currently Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing in Wales. Lynne is passionate about suicide prevention and children and young people’s mental health. Her political interests include health, housing, social services, Europe and the future of the valleys in south Wales. In the Fifth Senedd, Lynne was chair of the Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education Committee. Before her election to the then National Assembly in 1999, Lynne held a number of posts within the voluntary sector in Wales, working for organisations such as Shelter Cymru, Mind and the CAB.
Sally Lewis, Programme Manager, Arts, Health & Wellbeing, Arts Council of Wales
Sally has worked across the arts, in education and on UK-Japan relations for 40 years in a variety of roles including for festivals, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, the Japan Foundation and londondance.com. For the past 6 years, Sally’s work at the Arts Council has focused on building strategic partnerships to advocate for the health and wellbeing benefits of engaging in the arts; supporting creative posts within the NHS; developing the Cultural Cwtsh (a creative wellbeing resource for the healthcare workforce) and investing in Arts & Minds a programme to support better mental health through the arts in partnership with the Baring Foundation and all Health Boards across Wales.
David Cutler, Director at Baring Foundation
Before joining Baring Foundation, David led the Carnegie UK Trust’s initiative on young people and decision making and the DIVERT Trust, the national charity for the prevention of youth crime, which specialised in mentoring programmes for young people at risk. He also ran the Community Safety Unit for a London Borough, which undertook pioneering work on hate crime and domestic violence and began his career working on racial equality. He is currently a trustee of Peace Direct and a trustee of Settle Stories. He was also a founding non-executive director of the Commission for the Compact which oversaw Government/Voluntary Sector relations.
Peter Carr, Executive Director of Therapies and Health Science at ABUHB
Peter has been the Executive Director of Therapies and Health Science at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board since December 2017.He considers his role a privileged opportunity to champion equality, diversity and inclusion for all colleagues, partners and people living in our community, so that the care that Aneurin Bevan University Health Board delivers allows them to thrive, work and live in a way that really matters to them. He and the health board are committed to supporting the application of arts for health and wellbeing, for the benefits of our patients, staff and wider community, as set out in its recently published arts and health strategy.
Professional dancer and TV's Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden shares her personal experience of the benefits of the arts on her physical and mental health and wellbeing in this specially-recorded interview for Weave delegates.
Chair
Martha Sercombe, Clinical Lead, Wales Perinatal Mental Health Network
Panellists
The Lullaby Project: Jay Mendivil and Bethan Semmens, Live Music Now
Live Music Now’s Lullaby Project is a creative health programme that pairs new mothers and families with professional musicians to write, sing, record and perform a personal song for their child through exploration of their emotions, mindset and hopes for the future. Evidence demonstrates that Lullaby Projects delivered in partnership with health boards and health service providers can be transformative for families in challenging circumstances and improve perinatal mental health. The Lullaby Project model was developed by Carnegie Hall in New York and during the last 11 years has been used internationally by organisations partnering with health service providers.
1,000 Days: Deborah Aguirre and Laura Bolton, Aneurin Bevan UHB
1,000 days is a programme of creative interventions for parents experiencing moderate to severe mental health challenges or who need support within their parent-infant relationship, alongside their babies, in the first 1,000 days. They are referred by Aneurin Bevan UHB Perinatal and Gwent Parent Infant Mental Health Services. Lead Artist Deborah Aguirre Jones and Assistant Psychologist Laura Bolton share the positive impact of artists and clinicians working collaboratively through art, music and movement to support mental health recovery and wellness in parenthood. As part of the Arts and Minds programme, this is a collaborative project funded by the Arts Council of Wales, The Baring Foundation and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.
Birth Café: Dr Tracy Breathnach with People Speak Up
Birth Café was a partnership between Dr Tracy Breathnach and People Speak Up that began in 2018 to support women in expressing and sharing their birth stories using a somatic or embodied approach. The project helped empower mothers, so they could experience more agency and self-determination, leading to greater wellbeing and social connections through a caring and supportive peer community. The project was open to all, not just new mothers, and included participants from their 20s to 80s. One participant will share her story as part of the presentation and Tracy will outline how the work has developed since then.
Ar y Dibyn: Nia Skyrme and Iola Ynyr, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru
Ar y Dibyn is a creative project for individuals living with dependency through the medium of the Welsh language, which offers a translating service to support non-Welsh speakers. The project is based on the principle of creating a safe environment where there is a mutual understanding of the challenges of dependency. Ar y Dibyn is a project led by Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru and lead artist Iola Ynyr, in partnership with Literature Wales. It is currently funded and supported by North Wales Area Planning Board for Substance Misuse and Menter Iaith Môn.
Summary
Join Arts & Health consultant Rosie Dow in a relaxed conversation about how we access, produce and share evidence of impact in arts and health. Drawing on her experience working with researchers and evaluating projects, Rosie will share some of the best and most up-to-date resources that you can hopefully draw on in your work, as well as facilitating an open conversation about where we all want to see the evidence base develop from here.
Rosie Dow
Rosie is a freelance consultant who helps people and organisations think about how they develop, support and sustain creative work in health settings. Her portfolio of work encompasses mentoring and coaching, strategy, income generation and data/evaluation projects. A trained musician, Rosie set up and led Tenovus Cancer Care’s 18 ‘Sing with Us‘ choirs for people affected by cancer from 2012-16, before going on to lead Military Wives Choirs, Breathe Arts Health Research and the ‘HARP‘ programme for Nesta/Arts Council of Wales. She also led on engagement and policy for Dr Daisy Fancourt's Research Group and is a Board Director of the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance and Dirty Protest Theatre.
Summary
This panel discussion on inequalities in mental health and wellbeing considers how the creative sector can contribute to improving equity in mental health and wellbeing, and broader health outcomes, for people experiencing mental health difficulties.
Chair
Emily van de Venter, Lead Consultant for Mental Health, Public Health Wales
Emily van de Venter is a consultant at Public Health Wales with lead responsibility for protecting and promoting mental wellbeing. She has worked in UK public health for 15 years and has a long-standing interest in mental health and wellbeing, which began with an undergraduate degree in neuroscience. Emily has published papers on arts and health approaches, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on wellbeing.
Panellists
Dr Habib Naqvi, MBE, Chief Executive, NHS Race and Health Observatory
Dr Habib Naqvi is Chief Executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory in the UK, which works to identify and tackle ethnic inequalities in health and care. Having joined the English NHS in 2001, managing large public health research programmes, he worked at the Department of Health and Social Care before directing national health equity programmes. Dr Naqvi has written and spoken widely on health equity, has given evidence to the UK’s House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, and was awarded an MBE in 2019 for his services to equality and diversity in the NHS.
Lexi Ireland, Strategic Lead for Health Inequalities, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust
Lexi Ireland is passionate about transforming mental health services in innovative, 'outside-the-box' ways to deliver the best healthcare for service users, family and carers. She has a particular interest in tackling health inequalities and is experienced in creating co-produced pathways, with a focus on QI approaches. Lexi will share her work on severe mental illness and health inequalities, the need for innovative partnership approaches, and arts and ethnicity, including promotion of the work carried out by the Cultural Inclusion Network.
Nerys Edmonds, Principal Health Impact Assessment Development Officer, Public Health Wales
Nerys Edmonds is a mental health nurse, who has worked in NHS public health in England and Wales since 2000, as well as local government and third sector, promoting mental health and wellbeing and tackling health inequalities. She has worked in suicide prevention, promoting life-long mental wellbeing, tackling stigma, early intervention, local mental health promotion strategies and health impact assessments. Today, Nerys works for Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit in Public Health Wales and is a Mental Health Foundation Trustee. She has authored the Mental Well-being Impact Assessment Toolkit (2011), and Health Impact Assessments on Brexit and Climate Change in Wales.
Chair
Deb Austin, National Consultant Lead, CAMHS and Glyn Jones, National Clinical Lead, CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)
Arts Boost: Kathryn Lambert and Katie O’Shea, Hywel Dda UHB
Arts Boost was an ambitious project launched in 2022, led by Hywel Dda UHB, to improve the mental health of children and young people in West Wales and reduce their feelings of distress through arts engagement. The participants were known to the health board’s Specialist Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (S-CAMHS). The project was a response to an increase in mental health difficulties for children and young people, as growing numbers sought support from Hywel Dda S-CAMHS. Arts Boost was part of a national Arts and Minds programme, funded by the Baring Foundation and Arts Council of Wales.
Arts & Minds Youth projects: Melanie Wotton, Cardiff and Vale UHB
The Arts for Health and Wellbeing Team at Cardiff and Vale UHB supports a broad, varied arts programme delivered across its hospital sites and within its communities. They work with artists and arts organisations, health professionals and third sector and community organisations to deliver innovative projects and impactful opportunities for people to engage with the arts for their wellbeing. Mel will present an overview of the first two years of the health board’s Arts and Minds Project, a pan-Wales Arts Council of Wales and Baring Foundation initiative, including the film Unity, co-created by the Youth Forum at Grange Pavilion, Cardiff.
Amethyst Project: Deri Morgan, Small World Theatre
Since 2016, the Amethyst Project has run workshops for young people who have experienced self-harm, anxiety, depression, low confidence and low self-esteem. It also works with more broadly with young people to improve emotional well-being. Amethyst prioritises creating a safe, supportive and non-judgemental space. It models kindness, empathy, honesty and integrity. Using techniques from ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’, such as forum theatre and image theatre, elements of Transactional Analysis, cognitive behavioural therapy and neuroscience, games and exercises, the project promotes well-being and mental health. It works with each group to negotiate a clear, ongoing contract involving all members.
Messages of Hope: Jain Boon and Matilda Tonkin-Wells (thisPlace) with New Pathways
Messages of Hope was a creative research and development project from Wales’ leading sexual violence support provider, New Pathways, aimed at encouraging people who have experienced sexual violence and abuse to seek help working with artists Jain and Matilda Tonkin-Wells from thisPlace, a trauma informed dance theatre company based in Cardiff. thisPlace works with stories that arise from the body through movement, improvisation, and play. In collaboration with communities, thisPlace hopes to reveal and reimagine these stories through a creative process grounded in compassion for self, others, and the world. Their trauma informed approach centres on the body and the importance of community in regulating the nervous system, creating spaces that are safe and hopeful but also a place where participants can meet the challenging.
Summary
As interest in arts, health and wellbeing continues to grow in Wales, it’s important that we find new ways to inspire and nurture artists to work in health and community wellbeing settings. But how do artists acquire the confidence and skills to work effectively and safely in this sector? Join freelance consultant Rosie Dow for an informal conversation about what skills we think artists need to develop, and ideas for how WAHWN and others could support this. N.B. This sessions forms part of WAHWN's 'Creative Pathways' project; more details can be found on the wahwn.cymru website under 'News'.
Rosie Dow
Rosie is a freelance consultant who helps people and organisations think about how they develop, support and sustain creative work in health settings. Her portfolio of work encompasses mentoring and coaching, strategy, income generation and data/evaluation projects. A trained musician, Rosie set up and led Tenovus Cancer Care’s 18 ‘Sing with Us‘ choirs for people affected by cancer from 2012-16, before going on to lead Military Wives Choirs, Breathe Arts Health Research and the ‘HARP‘ programme for Nesta/Arts Council of Wales. She also led on engagement and policy for Dr Daisy Fancourt's Research Group and is a Board Director of the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance and Dirty Protest Theatre.
Summary
This panel discussion considers how the arts and creativity can contribute to supporting the mental wellbeing of the health and creative workforce, spotlighting three innovative and award-winning programmes across Wales.
Chairs
Nesta Lloyd-Jones, Assistant Director, Welsh NHS Confederation
Nesta Lloyd-Jones has more than a decade of experience working in policy and public affairs in Wales and is currently the Assistant Director of the Welsh NHS Confederation. After completing her law degree and being called to the Bar in 2004, Nesta worked at Welsh Women’s Aid for six years as legal issues co-ordinator. She then became part of the award-winning External Affairs team at Macmillan Cancer Support and was a consultant for Rape Crisis England and Wales.
Oliver John, RCPsych in Wales Manager, Royal College of Psychiatrists in Wales
Ollie John is manager of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Wales, where he oversees strategic direction, research and policy. He joined the College from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, providing experience in digital and humanitarian innovation, migration and displacement for organisations across Europe. Ollie chairs the Royal College Mental Health Expert Advisory Group, which brings together organisations across primary, community and secondary care mental health services. He also provides secretariat for the Senedd Cross-Party Group on Climate, Nature and Wellbeing.
Angie Oliver, Deputy Director of Workforce and Organisational Development, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
Angie Oliver has been Deputy Director of Workforce Development at HEIW since 2019. A trained classical musician, she left secondary education to join the NHS in 1995. After several roles in the Ambulance Service and Cardiff and Vale UHB, in 2004 Angie became Head of Staff Development and subsequently Assistant Director of Workforce and Organisational Development in Pembrokeshire. At HEIW, she is responsible for implementing the 10-year health and social care workforce strategy and the mental health workforce plan, leading the workforce supply agenda.
Panellists
Dr Thania Acarón, Dance Movement Psychotherapist and Company Director, The Body Hotel
Dr Thania Acarón is a Cardiff-based lecturer, performer, dance and movement psychotherapist, and clinical supervisor from Puerto Rico. The University of South Wales lecturer researches diversity in therapeutic practice and offers international workshops on therapeutic work with the LGBTQ+ community, embodied decision making and employee burnout prevention. Dr Acarón founded The Body Hotel in 2020 – a social enterprise focused on employee wellbeing and providing movement-for-wellbeing and dance movement psychotherapy informed services to underrepresented communities. She has taught in more than 10 dance movement therapy (DMT) training programmes and is co-editor for the American Dance Therapy Journal.
Aled Jones, Project Manager, Cultural Cwtsh
Aled Jones is a freelance project manager with more than two decades of experience working on digital projects. The Cultural Cwtsh is an online creative wellbeing resource developed to support the wellbeing of health and social care workers in Wales. The website, created by the Arts Council of Wales with Welsh Government funding support, is part of an ongoing programme of partnership work across Wales’ arts and health sectors. It has been designed in consultation with HEIW, Social Care Wales, the Welsh NHS Confederation, the Arts and Health Coordinators within each health board and focus groups of healthcare workers.
Johan Skre, Arts in Health Coordinator, Swansea Bay UHB
Johan Skre coordinates arts in health at Swansea Bay UHB. Sharing Hope is an award-winning Arts in Health approach to NHS Staff wellbeing in Swansea Bay, which grew out of worrying trends in mental health and suicidal ideation post COVID. Through the arts and creative activities, staff can find ways of expressing what they can’t put into words, connect with colleagues and share their stories. Sharing Hope offers safe spaces to heal, recover and come out stronger together. In two years, more than 650 staff have engaged with the project, which is supported by The Baring Foundation and Arts Council Wales.
Panellists
Creative Car Park: Sarah Pace, Addo; Connor Wood, KIM Inspire
Tŷ Pawb, KIM Inspire and Addo have worked with artist Marja Bonada and partners to reimagine the flat roof above Tŷ Pawb’s main gallery – a disused area of multi-storey car park – as an experimental green space where artists, communities and organisations can develop creative possibilities. This has included a shelter or outdoor workshop and storage space, designed and made with artist John Merrill. KIM Inspire members were involved in all construction. Developing new skills and building confidence is key to the programme. There will be potential to host events and informal gatherings, training and creative workshops with others – effectively becoming an outdoor ‘lle celf ddefnyddiol’ (useful art space). Funded by Arts Council Wales Connect and Flourish funding.
A Sense of Place: Megan Leigh, Mission Gallery; Esther Ley, Crisis Skylight; Jenny Phillips, Cwmpas
A Sense of Place is a partnership project between Mission Gallery and the homelessness charity Crisis. Building on previous successful collaboration, this nine-month project provided activities and skills development to Crisis service users, exploring the question, ‘can art act as a vehicle to counteract loneliness in those impacted by homelessness?’ The project responds to Crisis’ 2015 report, ‘I was all on my own’: experience of loneliness and isolation amongst homeless people.’
Arts & Minds project: Esyllt George, Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB
Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB Arts and Minds project aims to embed the role of arts for wellbeing within CTMUHB mental health services, with the intention of developing a community arts for wellbeing in mental health social prescribing framework for the Health Board. Artists have delivered creative workshops in four locations. Building on the success of Year 1, participants are now being introduced to local community coordinators and third sector arts partners. Relationships are being formed with social prescribing teams and participants are engaging with the wider, local cultural provision. This is underpinned by new partnerships with regional cultural providers Tanio, Awen, RAFT, Artis Community and Wellbeing Merthyr.
Coming Home, Karin Diamond, Re-Live
Karin Diamond, Artistic Director of Life Story Arts charity Re-Live, discusses working with military veterans and the power of the arts to support people experiencing trauma. The talk explores Re-Live’s latest project, Coming Home, a co-created comic made alongside veterans living with complex mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma, and depression. Karin will be joined by a veteran participant from Coming Home, who will share the impact of the arts on his mental health and wellbeing. Attendees will receive a copy of Coming Home comic, featuring the work explored in the session.
Summary
Storyteller Carl Gough invites you to join him in a ‘climate café’ format, where he will share a flavour of his experiential workshop ‘Finding Your Nexus’ and facilitate an empowering conversation. Be prepared to alter your perception and discover a unique place where you have potential to create change through small actions.
Carl Gough, Storyteller
Carl Gough is a professional storyteller who has performed internationally and recorded for BBC Wales. His personal re-awakening in lockdown led to the development of an experiential workshop he calls ‘Finding your Nexus’, which uses story as a vehicle to help people reconcile their feelings in a time of climate change.
Summary
This panel discussion focuses on the role of arts, creativity, culture and innovation in our local and regional partnership landscape, including public service and regional partnership boards. It will explore how North Wales is seeking to help the region’s residents lead happy, healthy and connected lives.
Chair
Nina Ruddle, Head of Public Policy Engagement, Wrexham University
Nina Ruddle is Head of Public Policy Engagement at Wrexham University. She has 20 years of experience in public services, including education, social and economic regeneration, procurement and change programmes, and policy development and delivery in local and central government. Today, Nina leads the University’s civic mission partnership strategy across North Wales, which aims to end social inequality by 2030. She is also a member of the Arts in Health Strategy group for Betsi Cadwaladr UHB and a member of the Well-being of Future Generations National Stakeholder Forum for Welsh Government, among other roles.
Panellists
Professor Alec Shepley, Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Arts and Society, Wrexham University
Professor Shepley is an academic and artist based in Northeast Wales. His work, which merges traditional art production and writing methods with ecological and social concerns to create spaces for art as conversation around purpose and play, is exhibited nationally and internationally. His research has been funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council, the British Council, the Arts Councils of England and Wales. Alongside his role as Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology and Professor of Arts and Society at Wrexham University; he is also a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts; Senior Fellow of Advance HE and Fellow of the Royal Cambrian Academy.
Helen Goddard, Head of Culture, Libraries and Information, Conwy County Borough Council
Helen Goddard leads Creu Conwy, Conwy County’s Culture Strategy. Originally an archaeologist, she moved into community development while living in Shetland and later relocated to Wales. She was museum development officer and heritage tourism officer at Conwy County Borough Council before delivering the Conwy Culture Centre project as its Section Head for Culture, Libraries and Information. Today, Ms Goddard is placing wellbeing at the heart of Creu Conwy’s mission. She has been named a Future Generations Commissioner’s Changemaker for advocating culture’s power to deliver the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
Dr Teri Howson-Griffiths, Arts in Health Strategic Lead, Betsi Cadwaladr UHB
Dr Teri Howson-Griffiths joined Betsi Cadwaladr UHB in September 2022. She also works as a drama lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University. Her research and performance practice centres on contemporary, participatory and socially engaged performance and has been involved in several community and participatory arts projects centred on community and wellbeing, often in outdoor settings. Her PhD considered the therapeutic potential of immersive theatres. Teri was involved in the Dementia and Imagination research programme, exploring the value of participatory arts for people living with dementia and research into challenging the stigma of dementia through art and theatre. She also supported a play about D/deaf experiences of cancer.
Gwennan Mair, Director of Creative Engagement, Theatr Clwyd
Gwennan Mair is a community theatre facilitator and artist who is also part of an executive leadership team for a producing theatre in North Wales, Theatr Clwyd. Since 2014, Gwennan has been dedicated to developing community arts to the highest standard around North Wales, using theatre as the main art form for engagement. Her passion lies in exploring the power of the arts within communities: listening to people, giving them equal opportunities and opening new doors to the world of theatre. Gwennan's recent participatory projects include ‘Lleisiau Clwyd Voices’, which was organised in partnership with Flintshire Social Services and co-created with young people and freelance artists.
Chairs
Lisa Davies and Alicia Stark (Tanio), Co-Chairs of Creative Ageing Network, WAHWN
Panellists
Arts in Care Homes, Heather Ferguson, Age Cymru
Age Cymru have been pioneers in the field of arts for older people in care homes in Wales through their well-known cARTrefu project. Heather Ferguson is Head of Policy and Projects at Age Cymru and has worked for the organisation for over seven years. Heather’s role involves overseeing the influencing work of Age Cymru inclusive of policy, media, research, campaigns and public affairs. She presents Age Cymru’s vision for ‘Embedding arts and cultural activities in every care home in Wales: Why they are vital, and how it can be done.’
Over 50s Social Group: Eleanor Shaw, People Speak Up
People Speak Up is a social, arts and health charity based in The Ffwrnes Fach, Llanelli’s Arts health and wellbeing hub. It works across the Southwest Wales region, in care homes, community spaces, outside spaces and through one-to-one home visits. It creates a space for forgotten voices and communities to find their sense of place through storytelling, spoken word, creative writing and participatory arts. Since the pandemic, People Speak Up has run a weekly social group for people over 50, where they can chat and have a cuppa while creating with different professional artists. Eleanor Shaw, the charity’s founder, will share the project’s journey and her thoughts on the need for creative spaces for older people and partnership working.
Creative Criccieth, Dr Catrin Jones, Cyngor Tref Criccieth Town Council
Criccieth is a small, bilingual seaside town in Northwest Wales. Like many Welsh seaside resorts it faces challenges: few employment prospects; housing difficulties; a large, often isolated retired population; a struggling high street; and the social and economic effects of the pandemic. Criccieth Town Council is responding to these challenges creatively, facilitating several projects that been designed and delivered by volunteers, drawing from multigenerational talent across the town. Its award-winning work is inspired by the concept of placemaking to strengthen the connection between people and the places they share.
Oasis One World Choir: Laura Bradshaw and Emily Agbaso
The Oasis One World Choir (OOWC) project began as part of Valley and Vale Community Arts and became an independent community interest company in 2020. The project provides welcoming and healing activities for people seeking sanctuary. It has become a vehicle to share an exciting cultural blend of music during public performances that encourages understanding, interest and compassion between communities that otherwise may not get the chance to interact.
Summary
Take a breather at the end of the day to connect and meet with colleagues from your region. Share notes, swap contacts and hatch new plans. The space will be organised by region and can also be used as a general networking space.
Derek Walker, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
Derek Walker became Future Generations Commissioner in March 2023. Previously, as CEO of Cwmpas, the UK’s largest co-operative development agency, Derek worked to support people to create jobs and strengthen communities, and changed the organisation’s focus to development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future ones. He has also worked as Head of External Affairs at the Big Lottery Fund (Wales), as Head of Policy and Campaigns at the Wales TUC and was the first employee of Stonewall Cymru.
Connor Allen, Children’s Laureate Wales 2021-23
Connor Allen is a poet and multidisciplinary artist from Newport. Since graduating from Trinity Saint David as an actor in 2013, he has worked with companies such as Taking Flight Theatre, Sherman Theatre, Royal Exchange Manchester, Tin Shed Theatre, BBC Wales and National Theatre Wales. Connor’s work is heavily inspired by elements of his own life, such as grief, love, masculinity, identity and ethnicity. His priority as Children’s Laureate Wales is empowering children and young people to tell their own unique stories through poetry.
with Nina Ruddle, Sally Lewis, Emily Van De Venter, Nesta Lloyd-Jones, Oliver John, Angie Oliver and Peter Carr.
Feel free to take some time out from the conference to have a breather or to explore your own creativity at any time during the day using the free arts materials that will be available on site.
Weaving
Pop outside in the garden throughout the day and join Creative and Therapeutic Arts students Jo, India, Roxy and Bethan in a collaborative live weaving artwork.