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'Start Manchester' - Creative Art and Well-being

After reading about some of the projects which have been created by participants from 'Start Manchester' and displayed at Manchester Art Gallery which look into issues surrounding health and well-being and coping methods, I decided to do some research into 'Start Manchester' itself. 

It provides reasons in which creative art can be beneficial to mental health and recognises a huge amount of points in the beneficial factors such as;

relaxation, enjoyment and inner calm

emotional expression and self expression

communication and self-exploration

social opportunities

building a sense of identity 

making meaning from life experiences

raised self-esteem

develops thinking patterns

...to name a few. According to Start, "some (of their) students report feeling noticeably calmer and more contented - ‘on a high’ - for some hours or even days after their art session", which suggests that the endorphins are released to the brain, which helps concentration, slows down the pulse, therefore reducing blood pressure and boosting the immune system. Art can be said to be a distraction, distracting the participants from negative thoughts and emotions. 

I think that one of the most important pieces of evidence shown by them is this; "creative activity has been shown to increase self esteem, provide a sense of purpose, give structure to an otherwise shapeless day, help people engage in social relationships and friendships. Enhance social skills and community integration and improve an individual’s quality of life." This is because it stresses how big an impact something that seems relatively small - merely a piece or art work or creativity in this sense - can have on someones day. How it can turn their feelings from negatives into positives each time, letting them know there is hope to feel better. 

http://www.startmc.org.uk/

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Manchester Art Gallery - Health and Well-being Projects

The Manchester Art Gallery has worked with partner organisations within the healthcare sector in order to enhance people's sense of well-being by encouraging them to use the gallery and its collections. They aim to do this by exploring self expression with in art and health and well-being, working with both young people and adults who are using mental health services and young people in hospitals. 

They began this project with a pilot of projects called 'Who Cares?' which researched how galleries can affect a person's health and well-being. This is being further developed in order to encourage more and more people to see the gallery as a place which makes them feel good. 

An example of a project is 'Held' - 2009, which was created by adults from the mental health service 'Start Manchester' which uses activities in art and gardening to help their clients. This project explored the themes of well-being and strategies in which people use to help themselves to cope. This project focused on hands, with the idea behind that "we all hold our own well-being in our own hands."

Another example project which I found interesting is 'Say it With...' - 2010, which again used clients from 'Start Manchester' and 'Out in the City'. "Creating a mixed group was a deliberate attempt to offer an art course that was also a social opportunity, particularly for those who might feel anxious in social situations." As some people find it easier to express themselves through art, instead of by themselves, this meant that people would feel more relaxed than they would if they were put in this situation without the help of the arts. 

In their sessions, they participated in activities such as drawing, creative writing, paper mosaic, printing and ceramics to inspire a wider range of discussion between everyone. The overall pieces were ceramic tiles which included poetry they had written amongst flower images they had created. They focused on the use of flowers because of the symbolism they have in art, and the medicinal properties plants have in health, bringing the two disciplines and people together. 

I think that these projects are really effective and interesting in how they can help people as it enables people to socialise whilst working through their issues at the same time, providing them with a voice and, if they want, someone else to talk to who may be dealing with a similar issue.

www.manchestergalleries.org/

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Art Therapy

Through researching my project on health and well-being within the arts, I decided to look into Art Therapy, "a form of psychotherapy that uses art media as its primary mode of communication."

They are used to help clients (who do not need any art skills) to change and grow on a personal level, whether this is on a one to one basis or within a group. It is used in both residential and community based settings, and includes working within;

adult mental health

learning disabilities

child and family centres

palliative care

prison service

Due to the nature of these settings and issues, art therapists need to be very skilled and sensitive, and should be mature and flexible people. 

"Many vulnerable people find they can use the arts when other interventions are not possible". It allows people to communicate using their own voice, in a non verbal manner if they are struggling to do so in another way. I think that this is an important element of the healthcare system as not only can it be physical therapy for those who are perhaps physically ill or injured, it can also help people to express their feelings and lower their stress levels in order to speed up their recovery process.

www.baat.org

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Scentsory Design

After reading about the University of the Arts, London's well-being week, I found some information about Dr Jenny Tillotson, a reader in sensory fashion at Central Saint Martins and the director of her 'Scentsory Design'.

"Through past experience in the fashion industry and healthcare sector, Jenny is a pioneer of Scentsory Design, the creative convergence of the science of smell and how it affects the human brain and senses." She has created wearable technologies through her knowledge of nanotechnology.

Jenny is interested in finding ways in which she can apply and create mood enhancing and responsive fashion and textiles. She aims to use the senses as a tool for communication and to break the tradition in the way in which fragrance is usually 'delivered'. She aims to achieve this by developing the computerised scent-output systems which can be worn on the body. These can be for things such as fashion, for health and for emotional well-being applications.

I think this is an interesting textiles piece in improving an individuals well-being in many ways. For example, if a person is feeling stressed or anxious, having recognised and comforting scents may make that person relax and therefore feel more at ease as a result. 

http://www.tfrc.org.uk/author/jenny/

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The Earth Institute

There are many factors that can determine an individuals health and well-being;

economics

quality of life

state of the environment

sustainability

issues of equality

individual well-being

The Earth Institute looks at world issues such as:

poverty

climate change

disease

sustainable use of resources

At their conference on happiness in April 2012, they proposed a research question; is there a way to accurately measure peoples happiness both within and across societies? In order to achieve this they came up with 3 methods.

1. Measuring happiness

They aimed to measure peoples happiness through statistical analysis using the Gallup World Roll, the European Social Survey and the World Values Survey and from these were able to collect up to thirty years of research, although it leads to the question as to whether it will all be valid information or not. 

2. External and personal factors

They determined the two-way interaction between these factors and happiness, for example, how someone health affects their happiness and vice versa.

3. Impact of policy on happiness

They suggested policy goals as a result of GNP (gross national product), basic living standards.

Findings

They found that the happier countries were the richer countries and because living standards have risen, the world on average has become happier over the past thirty years.

They also found that unemployment leads to unhappiness as it seems that job security and job satisfaction are major factors in someones overall happiness, more than the pay and working hours the job provides. Those who behaved better and received more support from others were also seen amongst the happiest.

Women were seen to be happier in advanced countries with stable marriages, relationships and family life and poorer countries found the the position was mixed; happiness is lower in middle age.

However, the largest determining factor on a persons happiness was found to be their mental health. This is because of the attitudes, stigma and ambiguity people having surrounding this factor, which is therefore varied between countries.

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Grayson Perry - "Beating the Bounds"

On Tuesday the 22nd October 2013, artist Grayson Perry continued with his second of four lectures, about beating the boundaries of art. During this lecture he questions if 'art' can really be anything we like, and what sort of things do/do not qualify as contemporary art.

These days people claim how anything can usually be classified as art and now anything goes, due to softer limits and faded lines. He claims that the factors that contribute to this idea are mainly "sociological, tribal, philosophical and financial" as the emotional memory can be very powerful.

He asks why anyone would want something they do or have created to be considered , and although the obvious answer to that would be because someone is an artist, there is a bigger economical factor involved. That factor is indeed, money. This is because there are huge amounts of money to be made in this industry, especially when many things can be passed off as contemporary art that before may have been too nontraditional to be 'art'.

Perry claims that art began to be refined during the 1400's, and that it wasn't until the mid to late 19th century that art became more appreciated and thus, questioned. Although Perry believes that the "idea of the traditional still lingers on", he speaks about Marcel Duchamp, an artist who famously questioned these boundaries of art and thought that anything could be art.

He speaks about the snobbery and class that is around in the modern art world, putting art essentially into two categories - are they unique or craft based? For example, Duchamp's urinal was seen as edgy, weird and trendy whereas art using a skill such as pottery can be seen as 'too close' to art and therefore pretentious. He uses the metaphor for how this art is seen as being the suburbs in contrast to the urban, contemporary and modern pieces. Ironically though, Duchamp's original urinal was destroyed before the public became interested and the copy has in fact been handmade by a potter, a 'pretentious' craft artist.

This links in to his claim that "art stops being art when it becomes famous", people are more interested to photograph a piece and prove to others that they have seen it, than they actually are in the piece itself.

Perry speaks of his 'tests' and problem markers he has come up with to define if something can really be classed as art. For example, is it a boring version of something else? If it lacks entertainment value or is classed as 'decorative' he believes it is insulting. Is it made by an artist? Apparently there is no such thing as art, only artists.

He quotes philosopher George Dickie who said "an art work is a candidate for contemplation and appreciation", and after listening to this lecture, I very much agree with this statement. I believe that anything can be classed as and backed up to be art, however if it doesn't make the viewer think, whether they understand or remain puzzled at it, I don't think it should be. Although I appreciate every piece has a background and many ideas behind it, if it lacks the entertainment value which Perry claims is so important, it can sometimes it can be hard to see past this.

At the end of the day, I feel that it is the viewers who are the main factor in deciding whether something is a piece of art. What may be a piece of art to one person, might not be to another, popular or not.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03dsk4d

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Arts in Health

There are four main areas of what arts in health involves. These are:

1. Arts in the Healthcare Environment 

- Over the past 30 years, many hospitals have chosen to incorporate artwork into the healthcare environment to improve experience of staff and patients. 

- Art exhibitions/artists working to improve lighting, way finding, gardens and clinical areas. 

2. Participatory Arts Programmes

- Getting involved in the arts provides both social and creative outlets for ill people (physical or mental)

- Many care homes/GP's surgeries/hospitals/community settings provide opportunities for people to engage with the arts as a total to improve their well-being.

3. Medical Training & Medical Humanities

- The arts have, for hundreds of years, played a part in developing the practice of medicine and the understanding of well-being.

- Lots of doctors will now have an arts aspect to their training and many health workers find that active participation in arts activity helps them with their work.

- Also often used to help explore ethical issues in medicine.

4. Arts Therapy

- Drama/music/visual art

- Art therapists are registered with the Health Professional Council and are accredited forms of therapy which use the arts as their primary form of communication.

- Established psychotheraputic tool used by qualified therapists - usually at a one to one basis.

How is it funded?

- There are a range of funding sources and charitable sources supporting arts in health and well-being. Many hospitals even have their own charities which fund arts activity. 

- Occasionally the NHS in a particular region will fund an arts organisation to work on a particular campaign or programme of activity.

- Community groups and charities often choose to raise money to fund this work.

- (Past) local authorities and the lottery have also funded lots of work in this area. 

- Arts Council England has funded a number of organisations, including London Arts in Health forum (which paid and developed the website http://www.artshealthandwellbeing.org.uk)

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National Alliance for Arts, Health & Well-being

The National Alliance for Arts, Health & Well-being is a group of organisations from across England, whom have been working together to develop a new national voice for arts in health. It aims to provide a clear and focused voice to articulate the role creativity can play in health and well being.

To achieve this it has involved the development of a charter for arts, health and well-being after being launched in 2012. However, a huge range of arts and health work has developed over the past 40 years in the U.K. The National Alliance seeks to represent this work - to advocate on its behalf - to encourage the use of the arts to health and social care providers and to raise standards in this sector.

There is a growing body of evidence that participation and access to a range of arts can dramatically improve health outcomes and increase well-being.

The Department of Health (DoH) did a review on this in 2007, and these were the key findings:

- Arts and health are, and should be firmly recognised as being integral to health, healthcare provision and health care environments, including supporting staff.

- Arts and health initiatives are delivering real and measurable benfits across a wide range of priority areas for health, and can enable the DoH and NHS to contribute to key wider government initiatives.

- There is a wealth of good practice and a substantial evidence base.

- The DoH has an important leadership role to play in creating an environment in which arts and health can prosper by promoting, developing and supporting arts and health. 

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Grayson Perry - "Democracy Has Bad Taste"

On Tuesday 15th October 2013, artist and Turner Prize winner Grayson Perry began his first of four lectures in front of an audience at the Tate Modern in London. He questions the values and qualities of art, asking who and what actually defines what we see and value as 'art'.

Historically, the art world is an "inward looking" and closed circle - quite often the public are the last to have a say, behind the artist, critics, dealers, curators, collectors, teachers, media... On one hand, the more views an artwork receives and the more popular it becomes within the public eye, the more attention it will receive, yet this idea is leading to his title that indeed, "democracy has bad taste". 

Many people agree that art will always be tied to money, and Perry states that "you'll never have a good art career unless your work fits into the elevator of your apartment block". He suggests that primarily, big paintings cost more than small ones, even though larger art work is apparently "rarely the best." This brings in the beauty of art; is liking a piece of art because of it's beauty actually buying into something wrong? As beauty is associated with familiarity and reinforcing an idea that we already have, Perry encourages open mindedness and exploration into the art world - instead of wondering how to tell if something's good, think, 'does it really matter?'

This image created by Perry himself, demonstrates the idea some dealers have that certain colours are more popular and therefore sell for more money. But who validates this? Who validates what is seen as right and wrong in the art world - what may be popular for one, may not be for another. His light-hearted digs at such views make us realise that you don't have to like everything, and at the end of the day, "although we live in an era where everything can be art, not everything is art."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03969vt

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Design to Minimise Waste

"Almost any history of fashion is waste-making". Textile Toolbox aims to challenge the process and production issues around products and improve the functions in order to instead, design out waste. 

On average, through cutting and sewing fabric when creating garments, 15% of that fabric is wasted. The idea of 'zero-waste fashion design' creates a way in which all fabric is used; whether this is from donating unwanted garments, using the offcuts to create other products/pieces, or using all of the fabric towards the final garment in the pattern-cutting. This duffel coat by David Telfer demonstrates this final idea:

(http://www.textiletoolbox.com)

Through the contribution of a variety of experts, articles and posts, a report will be published highlighting the "inspirational projects and also on the challenges the industry faces in shifting towards systemic industry change."

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Textile Futures Research Centre

The Textile Futures Research Centre is made up of a group of experienced designers and researchers who are based between the University of the Arts London, at Central Saint Martins and Chelsea.

The mix of design-led and practice-based researchers whom range from PhD researchers to undergraduate textiles students "strive to understand the sustainable design landscape using these different yet interconnected perspectives." This and the future of materials is examined through three areas; science and technology, social well-being and social innovation. 

A piece of research related to this is 'Biofacture'. Through looking into the structure, biological morphogenesis and synthetic biology of plants it creates a new idea of how plant cells could be genetically controlled to alter their natural functions to instead perform specific 'engineered' ones for us. For example, "plants could be designed to replace textile machinery whilst also providing food."

(http://www.tfrc.org.uk)

"Biolace presents a series of design probes that illustrate the potential of synthetic biology for the future manufacturing of textiles."