All Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing
Call for Practice Examples
As part of an Inquiry into the role of the arts in health and social care, the All Party
Parliamentary Group for Arts, Health and Wellbeing is seeking examples of the arts and culture
influencing health and wellbeing outcomes.
We understand the arts to include crafts, dance, design, digital arts and media, drama, film,
literature, music, photography, singing and the visual arts, as well as cross-arts practice, and the
cultural field to embrace locations in which arts engagement might take place, such as
community venues, concert halls, healthcare settings, homes, galleries, museums, theatres,
libraries, public spaces and heritage sites. The World Health Organization constitution states
that ‘good health is a state of complete physical, social and mental well-being, and not merely
the absence of disease or infirmity’. There is a helpful description of the interaction between the
arts, health and wellbeing on the National Alliance for Arts, Health and Wellbeing’s website:
http://www.artshealthandwellbeing.org.uk/what-is-arts-in-health.
We are interested in examples of practice from the past decade, where there is reasonably
reliable evidence of outcomes or evidence that a pilot or new approach has promise.
Engagement might involve attendance at events, participation in creative activity or another
form of interaction such as the handling of cultural artefacts. Outcomes might refer to physical
or mental health and/or wellbeing. While not necessarily having been published before, practice
examples might be forthcoming from arts, cultural, health or social care organisations, charities,
government departments, businesses, community groups and others.
We invite submission of reports of up to 1,000 words. In your report, please address the
headings below. These are based on the project reporting tool for arts for health and wellbeing
produced by Public Health England. Detailed guidance is available from:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/arts-for-health-and-wellbeing-an-evaluation-framework
Contact details (including email and web addresses, where relevant)
Project details (title, aims and objectives, funding sources, timescale and delivery dates,
context, location and setting).
Description of the arts activity (including artistic approach and medium, participant
engagement)
Details of the project participants (including target population, method of recruitment and/or
referral).
Project management (roles and responsibilities, quality assurance, costs to participants, ethics
and consent).
Evaluation methods and findings (including learning and/or outcomes from the project. Please
provide details of any published or unpublished reports on the project).
Please send your submissions [email protected] along with your completed Release
Form and include ‘Practice’ in the subject line. The deadline for submissions is Friday 19
August 2016.
About the Inquiry
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Arts, Health and Wellbeing (APPGAHW) is working
towards fully establishing the arts as a mainstream contributor to health and social care services
in promoting good health and wellbeing. APPGAHW is conducting an Inquiry, in collaboration
with King’s College London, exploring relevant themes and developing policy
recommendations. Partners in the Inquiry are the National Alliance for Arts, Health and
Wellbeing, the Royal Society for Public Health Special Interest Group in Arts, Health and
Wellbeing, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity. The aim of the Inquiry is to inform a vision for
political leadership in the field of arts, health and wellbeing, in order to support practitioners
and stimulate progress. A report is being produced, with the assistance of leading practitioners
and researchers, and, in light of its findings, APPGAHW will seek to influence the thinking and
practice of politicians and other decision-takers. Practice examples submitted in relation to this
call may be used to inform the Inquiry and its final report. We cannot guarantee that all material
submitted will be referenced in the Inquiry report, but we hope to be able to make submissions
publicly available. Thank you in advance for taking time to respond to this call.