...elada Eestis

First things first - I’ve been working with people involved in the field of memory loss this last two weeks. Some are part of Dementia & Imagination and others inhabit similar places. I am quite staggered by your ideas and vision. From the O.T’s, to the students - the artists, to the researchers - you are inspiring. Thank you. The very short film above, is something I created for a workshop, that I hope says something about possibility, desires and yet again, imagination. It doesn’t matter what your label is, or even worse, your ‘prognosis’ - we all have potential - let’s explore it.

CALLING ALL FREE THINKERS of ARTS & HEALTH
Here we present our latest ramblings and ruminations following Chaos & Comfort and preceding the near magical date of the 7th October, in which we will congregate, share and debate our ever-expanding field of practice and research. To whet your appetite, here is 2020+ (above)and I am indebted to Kamila Kasperowicz for her help with this. 

But just what is this 7th October all about? Well, aside from more chaos & comfort, (which seem the key ingredients of our get-togetherness) this date offers you some grand opportunities, and I can confirm guests from Japan will be attending and presenting. From Lithuania, friends and allies at Socialiniai Meno Projektai will be sharing research and practice. More international travellers will be wending their way to the Manchester School of Art. So it will be an event to share practice and research - to ferment new ideas and relationships - to incubate our hybrid dreams and let loose into this world - our Exquisite Corpse of ideas and dreams. Keep watching.

The Recoverist Manifesto in an ‘...age of dislocation’
I am thrilled that people want to hear about this ongoing work and I have shared the Recoverist Manifesto in various locations around the UK, in Italy, Turkey, Lithuania and Australia and like some fly-in-fly-out, dayglow jacket wearing recoverist, I am sharing in the beautiful Estonia,(where I'm blogging from) Dublin and Holland all over a few days.

You’ll know by now that the manifesto developed as part of my work with people affected by substance misuse and Portraits of Recovery, and I’m pleased to say that emerging iterations of it are developing and that the UK Recovery Federation are embracing the notion of Recoverism and have asked me to share the work at their annual conference in Manchester in September. I am honoured to. In the meantime, designer of the Recoverist Manifesto, and masters student here at the Manchester School of Art, Nick Young, has responded to the work as part of his ongoing studies. Whilst the MA show isn’t until October, here’s a taste of what he’s up to. Click on Nick's work to find out more about the UK Recovery Federation's September event.

DANCE LABORATORY...
Socialiniai Meno Projektai (SMP) is one of the first organisations in Lithuania that works in the space between cultural, social and health sectors. The organisation aims to extend the availability of the arts and address issues around social exclusion. Since SMP formed in 2013, they are striving to expand wider public understanding of the importance of the arts to individual and communal health. They are implementing teaching programs, educational and creative workshops and research into the influence of the arts on health. Dance Laboratory is a new project being launched in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas for people with disabilities from the “Workshops of Light” community.You can find out more or support this specific Dance Laboratory project, by clicking on the dance image by Irutė Jarusevičiūtė below.

IMPACT: Generate and Demonstrate

Conference: 16th July, 9.30am-4pm, Manchester Metropolitan University, Hulme

Organised by Cartwheel Arts, this conference aims to explore the building, evidencing and communicating the impact of creative projects on mental wellbeing. Health professionals and Third Sector organisations will share creative solutions to generate positive mental wellbeing. Exploring tools and methods, to capture evidence and effectively communicate impact. To register and for more details, click on the image below.

Paul Hamlyn Foundation 
New UK Grants Strategy

One of the UK’s largest independent grant-making foundations has launched its new strategic plan which will run from 2015 to 2021 and increased its funding by £5 million per year. The Foundation which closed to applications last October has reopened with a new strategy which focuses on six new priorities relating to the changes it wishes to see in the UK. The Foundation's work in the UK (it also works in India) will focus on achieving the following six strategic priorities:

• Supporting imaginative people to nurture exciting ideas.
• Widening access and participation in the arts.
• Improving people's education and learning through the arts.
• Showing that the arts make a difference to people's lives.
• Supporting the development and growth of organisations investing in young people and positive change.
• Improving support for young people who migrate, and strengthen integration so that communities can live well together.

OUTSIDE IN...
...are currently looking for submissions to their next national exhibition in collaboration with Craftspace. The exhibition will focus on craft-based pieces, and the works selected from the call out will be displayed alongside work by renowned historical and contemporary ‘outsider artists.’ The exhibition will open at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester in March 2016 before touring to further venues around the UK.

As they work with artists facing barriers to the art world, they know that many of those who would like to submit work might need some extra support. To overcome this, they are holding a series of Surgery Days across the country, which consist of free one hour one-to-one sessions where the Outside In team will support artists to create an online gallery on our website and submit work to the exhibition. Please find some text below – we would be really grateful if you are able to pass this on to any artists you know, or advertise on any of your platforms.

The deadline for submissions is 5pm Friday 30 October 2015, and artists are also able to submit on their own directly through our website. More information can be found here: http://outsidein.org.uk/news_and_events?item_id0=16111 

Surgery Day sessions are one-to-one and last for an hour, and are taking place all over the UK - from Hastings to Perth, and from Cardiff to Ipswich. To find out if there's a Surgery Day near you, and for information on how to book a slot, please follow this link: http://outsidein.org.uk/news_and_events?item_id0=16154

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