Mental health

Cambridgeshire-based charity Arts and Minds has secured funding for development work and programme delivery in Peterborough and is looking for a Freelance Project Manager to start as soon as possible on a six-month contract.

They are looking for a self-starter who has demonstrable experience of project management and is able to work independently. The organisation particularly welcomes applications from project managers based in Peterborough as this role involves developing relationships, therefore local knowledge and networks would be beneficial.

South East London-based charity Entelechy Arts produces projects which powerfully test the boundaries between art, creativity, care, wellbeing and community. The programmes are created by and for the communities they work with, namely isolated older people, those living with profound and multiple disabilities, and those living in care home environments, enabling them to play an active and visible role in the creative life of their community.

London Arts and Health and the Mayor of London have launched a myth busting guide to help support the hundreds of grassroots organisations in London to become involved in the London recovery plan. The guide aims to challenge many of the myths surrounding social prescribing, tackling areas such as funding, the role of link workers and the importance of strong evidence-based research and evaluation.

The UK March Network and the ATTUNE Consortium are hosting an online seminar to explore ethical issues in arts and mental health projects, with international research and practice. Three presentation sessions will explore ethical dilemmas in research and practice under the themes: Consent, Confidentiality and Power; Redefining Concepts of Care through Arts, and Risk and Responsibility for Adverse Effects.

The Baring Foundation has launched a new fund to support activity to redress the under-representation of participatory artists from ethnically diverse communities in arts and mental health. This funding round is being launched together with our new report – Creatively Minded and Ethnically Diverse – in which experts and practitioners with personal and professional experience explore the challenges and barriers in this field and draw out good practice.

Arts facilitators and learning teams from arts organisations are invited to take part in this training that aims to give attendees greater understanding, increased skills and improved confidence in communicating and working creatively with people experiencing the early stages of dementia and their carers. In the light of the COVID-19 situation, there will be a special focus on virtual activities with opportunities to network in Zoom breakout rooms.

BRIT award winning artist NAO, and acclaimed rapper/producer Jords have joined the Key Changes “Studio Connect” programme as music industry mentors. The Studio Connect programme is an online service designed to support the mental health needs of vulnerable Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups following the Covid-19 crisis. 

Youth Arts Charity Peer Productions has developed a new mini-series, 50 Days: Alone Together, to support teenagers’ mental health, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The series follows the lives of a small class of year 12 pupils as they check in, via video conferencing software, with their form tutor over the first 50 days of lockdown.

Matinée, the Derbyshire based scheme that initially focused on providing dementia friendly film events for those living with dementia and their friends, family and carers, has launched a new project in response to Covid-19. The scheme is seeking two artists to work creatively with individual households with people living with dementia and currently isolated due to the coronavirus crisis, to develop their sense of connectedness.

Further details of the roles and project, and how to apply can be found here.