Background

Enriching lives with meaningful creative interventions, events and activities

In 2021-22, following the successful delivery of a pilot creative prescribing project in Langholm during lockdown, and with support from SOSE, NHS Endowment Fund and Holywood Trust, OPA carried out 6-months of research and development to map existing creative wellbeing strategies and stakeholders, scope opportunities, and potential partnerships and identify and co-design next steps via engagement and consultation.

This marked a significant step forward for creative wellbeing in D&G, with key strategic and delivery partnerships formed as a result. Through these new relationships, we accessed target participant groups – allowing us to pin-point needs, understand barriers, and create responsive programmes of activities. 

This work resulted in ‘DG Creative Wellbeing’ – a ground-breaking two-year programme of impactful arts activities, events, and interventions across D&G, working in both community AND healthcare settings, with support from an alliance of funders – National Lottery Community Fund, Holywood Trust, Robertson Trust, Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund and Dumfries & Galloway Health Board Endowment Fund.  

OutPost Arts have also formed an important partnership with NHS D&G, coordinating an embedded Art in Healthcare programme across various healthcare sites supported by D&G Health Board Endowment Fund.  

A regional cross-sector Creative Wellbeing Network has also been established – creating an accessible platform to share and discuss creative wellbeing themes, nurture collaboration, and amplify art and culture’s important connection to health and wellbeing in our region. 

At a glance:  ‘Developing Creative Wellbeing D&G’: 

  • Increases partnership/cross-sector working 
  • Raises awareness/understanding of art’s positive impact on health/wellbeing  
  • Enhances mental/physical health via early creative intervention 
  • Increases access to arts/culture, confronting health inequalities   
  • Supports a formal creative prescribing framework 
  • Promotes individual AND community resilience  
  • Forms a connected vision for creative health and wellbeing in D&G 
  • Shares learning and resources e.g., training, opportunities, evaluation tools 
  • Embeds art in healthcare and enhances clinical environments 

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