Case Study: The Art of Growing Strong

Introduction

‘The Art of Growing Strong’ was a 12-month participatory arts project offering Creativity for Wellbeing opportunities, arts activities and group work to ‘give individuals the chance to feel valued, find meaningful activities, to build positive relationships and to address their wellbeing needs’. The Art of Growing Strong comprised of weekly workshops with participants from a number of health and social care settings in South Wales. Art forms varied, but focused on visual arts such as animation and mural making. Participants worked with professional artists over a number of months to produce individual and collaborative pieces of art. The themes of the creative work focused on mental health, nature, support services and recovery.

Partners: Breathe Creative working with: Ty Canna Outreach and User Led Services, Cardiff Mental Health Matters, Bridgend The Wallich Building new connections and projects with: Growing Green Horticulture Project, Cardiff Vale of Glamorgan Community Mental Health Outreach Services Ukranian Support team (VOG) Ysgol Plasmawr, Cardiff Sam Davies Ward, Barry Hospital

The Challenge

This project built on Breathe Creative’s work throughout the pandemic, with online arts sessions during lockdown which addressed the emotional needs of participants by offering meaningful creative activities and social connection. As well as continuing to support participants in their recovery process and in building resilience, this project involved a number of health and social care organisations in South Wales and aimed to impact positively on artists and on the organisations themselves. Our Creativity for Wellbeing programme tackled loneliness, social isolation, anxiety and depression, working with mental health service users in Cardiff and Bridgend, support staff and social prescribing teams.

The Approach

In 2022, Breathe Creative was successful in an application to the Arts Council of Wales for a 12-month participatory arts project. ‘The Art of Growing Strong’ provided creative opportunities, arts activities and group work to ‘give individuals the chance to feel valued, find meaningful activities, to build positive relationships and to address their wellbeing needs. The Art of Growing Strong comprised of weekly workshops with participants from a number of health and social care settings in South Wales. Art forms varied, but focused on visual arts such as animation and mural making. Participants worked with professional artists over a number of months to produce individual and collaborative pieces of art. The themes of the creative work focused on mental health, nature, support services and recovery. Our project demonstrated that: "By nurturing supportive environments, building strong relationships, and integrating creative wellbeing into care plans and organisational priorities, the full potential of creative wellbeing to improve the lives of individuals and enhance the overall quality of care and support in health and social care settings can be realised." (Dr Ellie Farmahan, Straeon Research Ltd, Sept 2023)

The Impact

In 2022, Breathe Creative was successful in an application to the Arts Council of Wales for a 12-month participatory arts project. ‘The Art of Growing Strong’ providing creative opportunities, arts activities and group work to ‘give individuals the chance to feel valued, find meaningful activities, to build positive relationships and to address their wellbeing needs’. This project built on Breathe Creative’s previous work throughout the pandemic, facilitating online arts sessions during lockdown, which addressed the emotional needs of participants by offering meaningful creative activities and social connection. As well as continuing to support participants in their recovery process and in building resilience, we offered face to face sessions and increased creative connections. The Art of Growing Strong project involved a number of health and social care organisations in South Wales and aimed to impact positively on artists and on the organisations themselves. Our project was evaluated by Dr Ellie Farmahan from Straeon Research Ltd. The evaluation explored the impact of the project on participants, artists and health and social care settings, as well as looking at the key levers for success and any challenges that arose.

Lessons Learned

Build in sufficient lead-in time to allow participants and artists to build trust and explore their creativity before embarking on collaborative work; ● Continue to support artists by having staff members present during arts workshops, and by supporting via meetings; ● Expand engagement with health and social care settings to allow a deep understanding of the creative wellbeing approach, and manage expectations among managers & staff; ● Keep building the evidence base for creative wellbeing by incorporating evaluation into future work

The Legacy

The Art of Growing Strong has revealed that creative wellbeing as an approach can be a powerful catalyst for personal growth, community support, and holistic wellbeing. This project not only showcases the transformative potential of creative wellbeing programmes, but also provides insights into its successful implementation within health and social care settings. (Dr Ellie Farmahan, Straeon Research Ltd, Sept 2023)

Website and Social Media Links

Project evaluation report: https://www.breathecreative.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/The-Art-of-Growing-Strong_-Evaluation-Report.pdf Video clips: https://youtu.be/BVGxQYtZ2yw https://youtu.be/cTb3fnzb9zI https://youtu.be/FU0fddBI00E Online exhibition Growing Green: https://www.breathecreative.co.uk/2023/09/growing-together-creative-wellbeing-in-nature/ Social media: Facebook-@breathecreativewales X/Twitter-@CreativeBreathe Partner websites: Mental Health Matters - https://mhmwales.org.uk The Wallich - https://thewallich.com Ty Canna Outreach Service and User Led Resource Services - https://www.cavamh.org.uk/directories/ty-canna-outreach-service-and-user-led-resource-service/

Contact Details

Alex Bowen admin@breathecreative.co.uk

Tags: Arts and Health Creativity for Wellbeing Person Centred Nature Connection Mental Health Physical Health Vulnerable people South Wales Cardiff Vale of Glamorgan Bridgend

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