“...fake clowns caused panic’

“ … real clowns are dismayed by the trend.” For this sad reflection on all things clownish, please click on the not-disturbing-in-the-sligh...

“…real clowns are dismayed by the trend.” For this sad reflection on all things clownish, please click on the not-disturbing-in-the-slightest-bit photograph above. Apologies to any clowns this my cause offence too!

A Recoverist Manifesto
A S P I R I N G   G R A P H I C   D E S I G N E R   W A N T E D 
The first Recoverist Manifesto is complete - written up and with a forward by a very surprising and high-profile contributor! This 9 page publication is due off the press, but we need a graphic designer with a benevolent spirit to lend us a hand with the design. Although the coffers have dried up, we want a hard copy and online version this month. If the graphics are left to your very own blogger - they will be atrocious! So, if you have a few hours spare and an eye for typography and colour, email a link to your online portfolio and we can have a chat. artsforhealth@aol.com 

Being Mortal

Another brilliant piece of writing from surgeon, Atul Gawande who in his new book, Being Mortal, tackles the bigger issues of life and death. Gawande hugely influenced a presentation that I gave at the the 3rd Art of Good Health and Wellbeing international conference in Canberra in 2011, which I wrote up as a book chapter called Towards Sentience in the Handbook of Interior Design and Architecture.

When we think of surgery and our arts/health conversations, it seems like we are a million miles apart. Whilst not being an advocate for the arts as such, Gawande does something that is central to arts/health - he thinks and ultimately acts - differently. His philosophy is one that resonates deeply and alongside the Design Council’s vision statement Design for Care and our very own Dr Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt’s study, The Long-Term Health Benefits of Participating in the Arts - we should have the basis for designing a very interesting symposium on the 12th February. Thank you to everyone who has expressed interest in being involved in this free event. We are throwing everything into the mix to see what we might come up with, and will be in touch well before the Christmas break. There will be the inevitable 'eventbrite' page to sign up soon too!

26th November 2014
Breaking Out of the Temples of Culture: Exploring Arts, Health and Wellbeing Initiatives in the Community
Institute for Public Policy & Professional Practice (I4P)
This symposium will take as its focus community-based cultural activities that seek to foster greater cultural engagement with the arts, facilitate more widespread active participation in culture, generate social capital and improve health and wellbeing in a variety of ways. To stimulate the discussions, we have invited a number of speakers – artists and representatives of cultural organisations – whose work, in different ways, is characterised by, or interested in, the interplay between cultural value and social capital. These activities include, but are not limited to, socially engaged art to local cultural festivals and the promotion, and exhibition of, arts and culture more broadly within local communities.  http://www.edgehill.ac.uk/i4p/symposium-26th-november-2014/ 

Krip Hop Nation

Krip Hop Nation is an international Hip Hop collective uniquely blending lyricism, activism and breakbeats. Featuring MC’s, rappers, DJ’s and musicians from the USA, Germany, Uganda and the UK, they work internationally as a platform for disabled Hip Hop artists and an independent voice for disability led justice and politics. Leroy Moore, who founded the collective, aims to serve a purpose beyond producing music, believing the movement is about advocacy, education and reclaiming oppressive material. For workshop details and more from CONTACT Theatre, click on the poster above.

The little video below is nothing to do with the Krip Hop Nation, but has some damn fine dancing. The Coup are pretty good and if you enjoy the little film, it may be worth clicking on this Boots Riley link. He's the bands singer and this interview with Fox TV is as good as it gets.

Funding for Creative Young People 

IdeasTap, a non-for-profit initiative supports young creative people between 16 and 30 years of age, has announced that its Ideas Fund Innovators is open to applications. During this funding round the Ideas Fund Innovators aims to offer 20 projects £500 each (10 for those aged 16 - 22 and 10 for those aged 23 - 30) to help get them off the ground. In the past, Ideas Tap have funded everything from dance and film projects to music videos and photography collectives. Applications from any creative field will be considered. Ideas Tap are looking for projects that are inspiring, original, innovative and that Ideas Tap think you can deliver. This brief closes on the 19th December 2014 at 5pm and is open to IdeasTap members aged 16 to 30 on the closing date. Read more at: http://www.ideastap.com/Opportunities/Brief/Ideas-Fund-Innovators-16-to-22-070214#Overview

This year I had the pleasure of speaking at the UK Faculty of Public Health Annual Conference and you can read a small account of the shared presentation The Arts - Authenticity and Exchange in Public Health Today by clicking on the image above.