We’ve heard a lot about Big Society over the last few months, but what does it mean for the Arts/Health agenda in the North West?


We’re planning an event at Manchester Metropolitan University on the 29th October 2010.

This will follow on from last years North West Frontier, where health professionals, artists and other actors from the field fed into the start of a regional/sub-regional conversation around inequalities, the arts, health and well-being.

Aspirations from this event included; networking opportunities; access to wider networks and knowledge; training and advocacy.

We also discussed a strategic framework for the region, but with government changes, ongoing structural changes across all sectors and now vicious cuts, creating another strategy seems a futile exercise.

Following feedback from the networking sessions and dialogue across the region, what we’d be interested in doing is spending time together and creatively pulling together a Manifesto for Arts/Health across the region.

So this isn’t necessarily about frameworks, bullet-points and strategy; but it will be a statement about shared vision, passion, commitment and possibility that we and key allies can sign up to.

If you want to take part, places will be very limited and details will be forthcoming, but for now email artsforhealth@mmu.ac.uk to express your interest in taking part.