A reflection from our Creative Health & Wellbeing Director, Lucy Bell
Where to begin on the highlights of 2025?
From my perspective as Director, this year has been about embedding – seeing partnerships and projects developed since 2023 take root and establish themselves in meaningful ways. The work is now bearing fruit, sometimes in expected ways and sometimes in ways that surprise us – which, in the arts and the third sector, is often where the most interesting learning happens.
Across DG Creative Wellbeing, we’ve continued to build creative programmes that respond to real needs, working closely with partners across healthcare, community and cultural settings. What has stood out most is the way creativity has become part of everyday environments, not as an add-on, but as something integrated, valued and shared.
Art in Healthcare: Creativity Embedded in Care
One of the most significant developments this year has been the continued growth of our Art in Healthcare work.
In partnership with staff at Midpark Hospital, we have co-developed an impactful participatory programme of artist-led workshops, Art Matters, delivered fortnightly in the hospital’s Atrium. These sessions integrate creativity into the lives of people receiving acute mental health support, alongside the NHS Dumfries & Galloway staff who care for them.
Artwork created during the workshops is displayed in a dedicated gallery space close to where it was made, offering creative inspiration, enhancing a shared public area, and, crucially, allowing participants to see their work celebrated. This visibility plays an important role in nurturing confidence, pride, and a sense of contribution. Alongside this, we’ve delivered team-building creative wellbeing programmes for NHS staff and developed a range of ward enhancements, including the forthcoming Memory Trail project on Ward C4 at DGRI.
At Galloway Community Hospital, the management team has worked with us to create a large exhibition space near reception, allowing artwork from DGRI to tour within the region. We also co-designed a History of Healthcare in Stranraerdisplay in GCH’s main waiting area – creating an engaging and reflective focal point for patients, visitors and staff alike.
My sincere thanks go to our Associate Artists Ruth Elizabeth Jones, Alice Griffin, Helen Walsh and Julie Stephen, whose creativity, care and skill have brought this programme to life.
Community Creative Wellbeing: Safe Spaces and Strong Futures
Our community social prescribing programmes, Art Journal Project and Creative Toolbox, continue to offer safe, welcoming spaces for adults and young people experiencing barriers to participation across Dumfries & Galloway.
Both programmes supported new cohorts in 2025, gently guiding participants into creative practice and supporting the formation of genuine, supportive creative communities. These groups have increasingly become their own support mechanisms – something that has been truly inspiring to witness.
The impact of this work continues to unfold well beyond the sessions themselves. Graduates have returned as Peer Mentors, volunteers and Workshop Assistants; young people have progressed into college-level art study and contributed to future programme planning; and ten adult graduates formed an art collective, sharing their work in a group exhibition in Edinburgh earlier this year. We were also proud to see Heather Bestel, a 2024 Art Journal Project participant, hold a solo exhibition at DGRI as part of Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2025.
We’re delighted to have secured Arts Award Access Fund support to deliver Bronze Arts Awards as part of the Creative Toolbox Graduate Programme in 2026. This funding helps remove barriers such as rurality, ensuring young people across the region can access nationally recognised creative qualifications and continue developing leadership, planning and reflective skills.
Creative Wellbeing Network: Connecting Practice and People
Our Creative Wellbeing Network continues to do exactly what it was established to do – amplify, connect, and cultivate.
In 2025, the Network hosted a major cross-sector event as part of Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, working in partnership with Third Sector Dumfries & Galloway to co-host a special edition of their Mental Health Forum at The Grain Store in Dumfries.
The event brought together freelance artists, community group representatives, health sector managers, third sector leaders and members of the public, creating space to share practice, challenge assumptions and inspire new ways of working.
Looking ahead to 2026
As we move into 2026, we’re excited to build on this strong foundation and share a glimpse of what lies ahead.
RSA 200
In 2026, the Royal Scottish Academy marks its 200th anniversary, celebrating two centuries of Scottish art and architecture through a nationwide programme of events. More than 70 cultural organisations across Scotland will take part, and we’re delighted that DG Creative Wellbeing is among them.
Our contribution will include a specially curated joint exhibition, co-curated with national Art in Hospitals Leads, alongside an RSA-led Life Drawing Day, delivered by an experienced RSA tutor. Together, these events will celebrate the artists and architects nurtured by the RSA, while spotlighting the creative communities shaping Scotland today.
Learn more about RSA 200 and the organisations celebrating together by clicking here.
Healing Arts Scotland 2026
Healing Arts Scotland returns in June 2026 with a nationwide programme championing the role of arts, culture and heritage in supporting physical, mental and social health.
The Creative Wellbeing Network will host a regional Healing Arts Scotland event in Dumfries, partnering with local organisations to deliver a collaborative gathering for artists, health professionals, community groups and the wider public. The programme will feature workshops, talks and participatory arts activities, creating space to share practice, explore innovation and imagine how creative approaches can support wellbeing across Dumfries & Galloway.
We’re particularly excited that this work, rooted in local partnerships, is beginning to take hold nationally, and we look forward to shining a spotlight on the incredible people and practice in our region.
with thanks
This work would not be possible without the dedication and generosity of so many people!
Our Team
Liz McQueen
Georgia Blue
Kirstin McEwan
Diane Hay
Phoebe Watt
Our Board of Trustees
Thank you for your guidance, governance and continued support.
Our Funders
With sincere thanks to:
- NHS Dumfries & Galloway Charity
- The National Lottery Community Fund
- People’s Postcode Trust
- The Robertson Trust
- Holywood Trust
Your belief in the power of creativity enables this work to grow and reach those who need it most.
As we look ahead, we do so with strong partnerships, shared purposes and a deep belief in creativity as a force for wellbeing. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey; we can’t wait to see where it leads next.
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