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Well-Making and Making-Well: Craft, Design and Everyday Creativity for Health and Well-Being
  • ISSN: 2040-2457
  • E-ISSN: 2040-2465

Abstract

The importance of looking after our mental health has been a prominent topic of discussion nationally, regionally and locally since the United Kingdom experienced increased levels of stress and uncertainty caused and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. People working in the arts, culture and health sectors – such as health professionals, artist practitioners, academics, charities and volunteer groups – are concerned with how the pandemic has adversely and disproportionately impacted vulnerable members of society. Encouragingly, invested groups and stakeholders in non-clinical practice have reported on the successes of everyday creativity in the form of psychosocial programmes that tackle social isolation by using the arts and culture as non-clinical opportunities to improve well-being. This article focuses on the Lived Experience Network (LENs) to highlight how involving experts by experience in research provides deeper understanding of what works and what does not when co-creating meaningful everyday creativity to counter social isolation.

Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • The Arts and Humanities Research Council
  • UK Research and Innovation’s COVID-19 funding (Award AH/123456779)
  • UCL Rapid Response grant funded via the UCL – Wellcome Institutional Strategic Support Fund (Award ISSF3/H17RCO/C5)
  • NIHR BRC Moorfields – UCL Therapeutic Acceleration Support (TAS) Fund (Award BRC3-305)
© 2022 Intellect Ltd
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/content/journals/10.1386/jaah_00117_1
2023-01-16
2026-04-16

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/content/journals/10.1386/jaah_00117_1
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Well-making: Understanding what works from lived experience
Journal of Applied Arts & Health 13, 373 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1386/jaah_00117_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jaah_00117_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jaah_00117_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): arts; COVID-19; culture; everyday creativity; psychosocial; well-being

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