National Centre for Creative Health

Celebrating a Year of Achievements with Arts4Us

Overview written by Dr Robyn Dowlen (Research Fellow), Ken Fletcher (Research Project Manager) and Arts4Us project team members.

Overview of Arts4Us – End of Year Event, hosted on Saturday 28th June 2025.

Arts4Us hosted by the Edge Hill University Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing is part of the Mobilising Community Assets to Tackle Health Inequalities (MCA) programme, MCA is a three-phase UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded Research Programme running from 2021 to 2027. It is coordinated by the Culture-Nature-Health Research Group at University College London, in partnership with the National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH) and funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), led by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), with Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Medical Research Council (MRC). Mobilising Community Assets to Tackle Health Inequalities (MCA) has encourage the projects it has funded throughout the UK to share knowledge and approaches to integration of community assets into the integrated care structures that exist in the local communities.

*All images courtesy of The Reel Thing ©

Overview

On Saturday 28th June, the Arts4Us team hosted a vibrant end of year event at Edge Hill University to celebrate and share findings from the first stage of the project. The day brought together young people, project co-investigators and partners, and a wider audience of those interested in the ways in which the arts can support young people’s mental health. In this blog we’ll share some highlights from the event, including creative activities, key messages from presentations, and feedback from those who attended.

Arts4Us

The Arts4us project is a £2.5M AHRC funded project in collaboration with integrated care systems and community organisations. It focuses on the mental health of young people aged 9 to 13, a group at significant risk of developing mental health problems while transitioning from childhood to adolescence. The project will create an easy-to-use digital platform where evidence-based local arts activities can be made accessible for children and young people (CYP), their families and relevant organisations and services.

Event Opening

We were delighted to have Edge Hill University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Michael Young open the event along with Mobilising Community Assets (MCA) project lead Professor Helen Chatterjee, Arts4Us Principal Investigator Professor Vicky Karkou and a recital from The Poetry Society.

[from left to right] Michael Young, Vicky Karkou and Helen Chatterjee standing together and smiling in front of a Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing banner at the end of year event. — *[from left to right] Michael Young, Vicky Karkou and Helen Chatterjee standing together and smiling in front of a Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing banner at the end of year event*

Reflecting on both the event and the overall project, Professor Young commented:

"This major AHRC-funded project brings together over 50 partners from across the health and cultural sectors, exploring the vital connection between mental health and arts practice"

Key speakers

We were incredibly fortunate to be joined by a diverse group of keynote speakers, each bringing powerful insights into how the arts and arts therapies can positively influence young people’s mental health.

Kevin Edward Turner from Company Chameleon shared his personal and professional journey, highlighting how movement, dance and creativity can open up space for emotional expression, choice, and connection.

Christopher Bailey, representing the World Health Organisation and Jameel Arts & Health Lab, explored the role of humour and performance in health. He spoke about how humour can invite curiosity and create shared moments of joy in even the most challenging of circumstances, making it a powerful tool in both mental health and creative practice.

Siân Brand from the Social Prescribing Network brought attention to the value of well-supported, community-rooted networks that offer playful, creative, and person-centred opportunities for young people.

[from left to right] Christopher Bailey, Sian Brand and Kevin Turner presenting to the audience at the end of year event

Young Arts4Us

Young Arts4Us are the project’s Lived Experience Expert group, made up of young people who have been central to shaping the event (including making sure pizza was on the lunch menu!) and the Arts4Us project. Their role on the day was vital: they shared powerful artworks exploring the connection between mental health and took to the stage as part of a panel discussion. Speaking with honesty, creativity, and conviction, they reflected on their personal experiences and shared their hopes for the future where more young people have access to the arts to support mental health. Their insights sparked thoughtful and engaged responses from a second panel of professionals working across health, education, research, the arts and arts therapies, demonstrating the power of youth voice in shaping more inclusive and responsive systems of support.

Workshops

Creative activities ran throughout the day, both as warm up activities in the main theatre space and across parallel sessions. Attendees had the opportunity to take part in a variety of workshops, some of which were facilitated by our community-based co-investigators on the project, including: Odd Arts, More Music, Tate Liverpool, Grow Wellbeing CIC and Dance Syndrome. The diverse range of workshops on offer included showcases for creative-based and therapeutic approaches to supporting mental health. Additionally, a ‘Chill Zone’ was facilitated by The Gregson and Kendal Window on Art for those who wanted to relax in a calm space away from the main activities.

A person’s hands drawing a ladybird on a wooden medallion whilst attending the forest workshop. — *A person’s hands drawing a ladybird on a wooden medallion whilst attending the forest workshop*

What we shared

The Arts4Us team shared project updates which showcased the range of work that has happened within the first year of the project, including digital developments, literature reviews, and early reflections from data collection with young people. We also launched our Front Line Workers questionnaire, which aims to better understand the barriers and enablers professionals face when supporting young people to access arts-based activities for mental health and wellbeing. If you would like to take part in this study, you can do so through this link.

Event closing

We were excited to welcome wonderful performers from both Artz Centre and Afrocats, who brought the event to a close with brilliant dance movement and music performances!

*Performers and attendees engaging in dance movement and music performances at the close of the event*

Feedback

We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended and supported our end of year event. It was an energising and inspiring day that left the team full of ideas and motivation for the next stage of the project. We’re currently gathering feedback from those who joined us, but here are a couple of reflections that capture the spirit of the day:

"I met like-minded people who see the value of the arts and the positive impact we can have on mental health"

"It gave me the opportunity to make connections with people in the arts that hopefully I can use to further spread the Arts4Us message"

Further Information

To learn more about Arts4Us, including video coverage of the event, please visit the project webpage.