HOME-GROWN MINDFULNESS # 1

Mental Health Services –

Our Plans to Stop some of our Services:A Consultation with People in the City of Manchester

Many of you will know START in Manchester which is under threat of being axed as an arts and mental health service. You have limited time to respond to this public consultation. Please share it as appropriate.

"Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust wishes to engage with patients/service users, carers and the wider community to help us to ensure that the services we provide continue to meet the needs of people living in Manchester, in the most effective way possible. On this page you can find information about our current proposed service changes and how you can have your say.  We would very much welcome your views and comments on any of our current consultations." Click on the Giorgio de Chirico above, for more details and how to make your views known.

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Read an article on Taysir Batniji and his work Fathers, by clicking on the image below.

HEALTH RECORDS

Health Records is an exhibition of new work by artists Claire Tindale and Niki Colclough created in response to their experience delivering workshops on the Renal Unit at the Manchester Royal infirmary. The project was delivered in collaboration with The Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA) and Kidneys for Life. CFCCA’s engagement programme works with artists to connect with individuals and communities, exploring themes such as cultural and social diversity as it supports UK audiences to better understand Chinese contemporary society through art. In Health Records the artists use practices developed through cultural exchange to respond to the personal identities and narratives of the patients on the Renal Unit. On Monday 18th January  between 10-5pm Niki is offering a MENTORING DAY FOR ARTISTS. These sessions are for artists who are interested in using their practice to deliver arts and health work. You will work to review your experience and portfolio, to understand how you may apply your practice in this way. This is an opportunity to talk through ideas and pathways into this kind of practice. Mentoring slots will be 45 minutes long, starting on the hour throughout the day. Seven slots are available, to enquire about these sessions contact the artist directly: nic_on_tour@yahoo.co.uk Click on the unsightly patients notes below, for more information.

TWO NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS #1

This week I’m thrilled to announce that Dr. Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt has been awarded a contract by Kings College to undertake research as part of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Arts, Health and Wellbeing, which over 2016/17 will be undertaking a series of inquiries into arts and health to ultimately inform government policy. I’ll share more when we have the full details, but for now, it’s good to know that this arts/health field has a critical friend in Rebecca, who has a forensic eye for detail and who was author of last years study of the longitudinal impact of arts participation on health in Nordic countries. Congratulations Rebecca.

#2 The Culture Health & Wellbeing International Conference 2017

19, 20 & 21 June 2017
Bristol, UK

SAVE THE DATE! ONLY 2 YEARS TO GO!

We are in the planning stages for the second Culture Health & Wellbeing International Conference and would welcome your help with this.

Please answer the two questions below:

1. What do you think should be the key themes for the conference?

2. Are you interested in submitting an abstract?

Reply to: info@culturehealthwellbeing.org.uk 

More information will be posted in due course.

Women Make Music Grant Scheme

The next applications deadline for the Performing Right Society's (PRS) Women Make Music grant scheme is 6pm on the 1st February 2016. Through the grant scheme, financial support of up to £5000 is available to women musicians to create new music in any genre. Click on the owls above for more details.

...and as to home grown mindfulness? Well, safe to say, I edited an extended ramble out of this weeks blog, but I keep the title and will revisit this when I can temper myself. For now, I am happy to ruminate.