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As part of the Coventry and Warwickshire Creative Health Alliance, Warwickshire County Council’s Public Health engaged eight local arts organisations to...

As part of the Coventry and Warwickshire Creative Health Alliance, Warwickshire County Council’s Public Health engaged eight local arts organisations to find creative ways to support vulnerable people and respond to the challenges of COVID-19 in care settings.

The arts can offer practical and innovative ways to nurture health and wellbeing by improving quality of life, supporting personal development and enhancing social cohesion.

It can increase activity, help people relax, improve mental well-being, enhance confidence and encourage meaningful social connections.

With this in mind, Public Health commissioned the artists to find ways to address vulnerable residents’ wellbeing and reduce feelings of anxiety, loneliness and isolation during the pandemic.

The local arts organisations involved in this community engagement work were Armonico Consort, Arts Uplift, Escape Arts, Live and Local, Open Theatre, Singing for Health, Sundragon Pottery, and The Starfish Collaborative. The projects took many forms including, dance and movement, music, and mark making all with the intent to boost physical and mental health.

Warwickshire County Councillor Margaret Bell, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health, said:

“Social care and health partners across the region have worked closely together throughout the pandemic to keep people as safe and healthy as possible and this project was a successful example of this. Our objective was to provide meaningful support to vulnerable people in care settings during a difficult period of potential loneliness and isolation. The eight arts projects combined reached a total of over 8,000 residents, and evaluation by Coventry University showed the benefits received by individuals from these projects included feelings of hope and positivity, creating new connections, and increasing both mental and physical health.

 

“Community engagement work has been part of Public Health’s wider outbreak management plan, to reduce both the incidence and impact of COVID-19. We’re using the learnings from these eight arts projects to inform future rollouts of art space initiatives within the county. Initiatives like this one continue to support our great engagement work by reaching as many people as possible across Warwickshire’s local communities in order to keep everyone safe, well and connected.”

Sarah Riddell, Operations Manager at Armonico Consort, added:

“Our commission was to bring the joy of music into people’s homes by creating an online library of singing workshops tailored towards older people who may have felt isolated during the pandemic. The project was a great success in helping these residents to benefit both their mental and physical health during this time, whilst also being able to feel a sense of belonging and connection.”

 

The community engagement work was commissioned by Public Health as part of The Coventry and Warwickshire Creative Health Alliance, which was established in 2019 to strengthen the links between the creative, health and care sectors. The alliance includes representatives from the arts, health, and local authorities who work together to find creative ways to address local health and wellbeing priorities. 

 

To find out more about the commissioned arts projects, watch the YouTube video here www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o7SAvvMmYs

For information and guidance about reducing the spread COVID-19 in Warwickshire, visit https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/information-coronavirus

Published: 11th June 2021

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