Last month, we shared our groundbreaking draft Creative Wellbeing Manifesto designed to inspire, inform, and transform the creative wellbeing landscape in Dumfries & Galloway. The draft manifesto was unveiled at a special event at Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary at the end of August, hosted by the DG Creative Wellbeing Network.
The event marked the region’s contribution to the Healing Arts Scotland 2024 programme, the nation’s first-ever countrywide Healing Arts week. Running from 19th to 23rd August, the week-long celebration was led by Scottish Ballet and the Jameel Arts & Health Lab in collaboration with the World Health Organisation. Healing Arts Scotland highlighted the profound impact of arts and health initiatives on the nation’s physical, mental, and social wellbeing.
Our event, ‘DG Creative Wellbeing: Reflections & Exhibition,’ showcased the innovative work we have been spearheading across Dumfries & Galloway since early 2023. By collaborating with cross-sector partners, our work has been pivotal in expanding access to creative wellbeing opportunities through the region wide work of the DG Creative Wellbeing project.
Visitors to DGRI enjoyed viewing a retrospective exhibition and contributing to a collective art piece which is now enhancing the hospital’s Atrium space. The highlight of the day was a stunning piece of performance art by Oceanallover, a site-specific theatre company led by Artistic Director Alex Rigg. Their piece, “Kroovan Wings,” celebrated two iconic trees at the entrance to Galloway Forest Park and a key meeting point on the Southern Upland Way. This performance was co-produced and supported especially to be performed in DGRI by DG Unlimited’s ‘Showcasing D&G Creativity’ pillar of activity.
The focus of the event was the unveiling of the draft Creative Wellbeing Manifesto for Dumfries & Galloway, with participants encouraged to share their insights to shape the final document. The Manifesto emphasises the power of creativity and highlights the benefits of incorporating art and culture into our lives, using plain language to make it accessible and meaningful to all. The themes of the Manifesto are:
VALUE | UNDERSTANDING | INVESTMENT | INCLUSION | SHARING | SPRINGBOARD
We are now working our way towards unveiling the final Creative Wellbeing Manifesto in October during the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2024. The launch will creatively share details and evidence for each theme in the Manifesto.
Anyone who was unable to attend the event is welcome to contribute their thoughts on the Manifesto by completing this feedback form.
The DG Creative Wellbeing Manifesto is the result of our work gathering feedback, evidence of the impacts of creative wellbeing, and personal testimonies from the events, workshops, and networking opportunities of the last eighteen months. The Manifesto is a distillation of all the feedback we received, and we hope it will become a living breathing document for the whole region, and an agenda for change for all. We plan to launch the Manifesto in October and to present it over the coming year in several creative ways.
DG Creative Wellbeing is supported by the Dumfries & Galloway Health Board Endowment Fund, the Holywood Trust, the Robertson Trust, Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund.
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