This week marks a milestone for me: 3 years since I set up Medley, my online arts for wellbeing initiative. That time feels like it has flown. I am so happy to have stumbled upon working in arts for wellbeing, and so enjoy all that I do with it. As someone new to the sectorContinue reading “Learning From Experience”
Tag Archives: Wellbeing
Complexities
In his BBC Radio 4 series, “Is Psychiatry Working?”, Horatio Clare explores very important questions on diagnosis and treatment. He talks with doctors and researchers, compares psychiatry with psychology, and hears from people with lived experience. He himself has lived experience of treatment for mental health issues, and he draws on this to inform andContinue reading “Complexities”
Craft A Way
Creativity comes in so many different forms, and some stand out for us in how they lift mood and wellbeing. Art, drawing and painting, have to come first for me, but I have come to enjoy craft as well. I’m newer to craft, so I enjoy the variety and the stimulus, experimenting to see whatContinue reading “Craft A Way”
Goal
As the women’s football World Cup starts today, this summer of sport is well underway. And linking sport with wellbeing, the other day I discovered the On Course Foundation, which gathers together former military personnel to play golf. Some may have physical injury or disability, some have mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder.Continue reading “Goal”
Health Check
With the NHS turning 75 – a milestone that has set the UK talking once again about the merits of this national institution – it’s as good a time as any to think about how the arts and healthcare overlap, and how they might overlap yet more. The NHS is struggling – still fighting backContinue reading “Health Check”
Moments That Matter
How many photographs do you take in a day, or a month, or a year? Today is National Camera Day. Now that so many people have phone cameras in their pockets or bags 24/7, photography has obviously soared – and this has an impact on how we experience the world around us. It might makeContinue reading “Moments That Matter”
A Secret Garden
Thinking about how and why gardens can be so helpful for wellbeing, I lifted down from my bookshelf a little book of quotes, “The Joy of Gardening” edited by Eileen Campbell (Headline, 2009). Flicking through its pages, some common threads started to dstand out: gardening as a mindful and joyful activity, a way to experienceContinue reading “A Secret Garden”
Places Of Hope
How do you feel on entering a cathedral? You might feel awe, wonder, discovery or excitement. It might feel familiar or unfamiliar, welcoming or daunting. Some people going into a cathedral will have faith, some will have little or no faith, others will be wondering or seeking. Thinking how cathedrals might be places of wellbeing,Continue reading “Places Of Hope”
To Crown A King
With Coronation fever well underway, I started thinking about art, music and nature (the three elements that Medley focuses on) and what part they will play in the Coronation of King Charles III. Their importance in the Coronation highlights just how they help us enhance and enrich our lives and living. What role will artContinue reading “To Crown A King”
Dance The Night Away
What first springs to mind when you hear the word “dance”? The excitement of dancing to an irresistible beat? Embarrassing memories of showing yourself up on a dance floor? Or ballet lessons as a child? Or maybe you think more of films like Billy Elliot. Of the chorus line in musicals, or of the StrictlyContinue reading “Dance The Night Away”
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