Join UK and Hong Kong practitioners working with young people, elderly services, with people with disabilities for an online forum and workshops. Discover how to use the arts as an agent for better well-being.
During SPARK festival in October 2021, the British Council invited anyone with an interest in the use of arts for well-being to join our series of online workshops and discussion sessions, bringing people from Hong Kong and the UK together to build a sustainable way of working together in the future to promote greater well-being and social inclusion in Hong Kong.
‘Growth and Aspiration’, our online forum for Arts and Well-being in Hong Kong, aimed to reach anyone with an interest in the arts and well-being, whether professionals in the arts, education, social or health care sectors, policy makers and influencers and funders.
Arts and Well-being – a definition
The idea of ‘arts and well-being’ is that participatory arts activities can be used in health, education or social care settings to improve the health and well-being of service users – one simple example might be painting classes for people living in elderly homes, boosting feelings of community and enjoyment through creative expression.
In 2019, the British Council in Hong Kong commissioned Professor Sophia Law to investigate Hong Kong's receptiveness to the arts as an agent for better well-being, with a focus on services for three groups of people – elderly people, people with disabilities and at-risk youth.
View the findings from Professor Law’s research here.
On 19 October 2021, we brought together experts from Hong Kong and the UK to share findings and experiences working in the field of arts and well-being, before we discuss how we can build new ways of working together using the arts to support better well-being in Hong Kong.
Whether you are a professional in the arts, care, health or education sectors, a policy maker, a funder or an influencer, this recording of our panel session is for anyone interested in the use of arts for well-being.
Professor Sophia Law launched this session and our whole forum with an introduction to her research and to share her passion for why arts and well-being is so important. There was also a creative activity led by Wingyi So, Art Development Officer at TWGHs Jockey Club Sunshine Complex for the Elderly to get us started.
Panellists:
Professor Sophia Law, art historian, researcher and advocate for the use of the arts for well-being (Hong Kong)
Amina Hussain, Music Therapist and Principal Flautist, Manchester Camerata (UK)
Ching Wan Leung, UK-registered art psychotherapist and co-founder of Not A Gallery (Hong Kong)
Jenni Regan, Director of London Arts in Health Forum (UK)
WORKSHOPS
This series of workshops was targeted at professionals interested in integrating arts and well-being skills and best practice to their work, as well as those who are already working in this field but would like to learn about different approaches.
Whether you are working in the arts, education, or a health and social care environment, you can view recordings of these workshops led by UK and Hong Kong experts. Our workshop leaders have a diverse range of experience, working across music, visual arts and theatre with different groups including young people, elderly people and people with disabilities.
This workshop was led by music therapists, musicians and visual artists from acclaimed orchestra Manchester Camerata (UK) and Sunshine Complex for the Elderly, (Hong Kong), giving you the opportunity to learn more about how we can use the arts to engage elders and people living with dementia.
In this recording, you’ll be able to experience music and visual art activities demonstrating how both organisations deliver creative work with elders and people living with dementia, and how you can integrate this into your own work.
Workshop 2: Photography and Ageing Well (delivered twice on both Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 October)
This workshop was led by photographer and social practitioner Liz Wewiora, and shared best practice case studies and taster workshop activities of creative projects which work collaboratively with older communities across the UK. The workshop was based upon Liz’s twelve years of experience working as an artist and creative producer in socially engaged arts practice, and Open Eye Gallery’s established arts, health and socially driven programmes in and around the Gallery’s home in Liverpool, UK.
Workshop 3: How to make your work accessible for young people with disabilities, Wednesday 20 October 6pm - 7.30pm (HKT)
This workshop was led by Nickie Miles-Wildin, Joint Artistic Director & CEO of DaDa (Disability and Deaf Arts) based in Liverpool, UK. Nickie is a theatre director who focuses on making work creatively accessible for artists and audiences. In this session, Nickie drew on her own practice and experience to share how theatre can be used to create accessible ways of engaging with young people with disabilities.
Type of event: Live workshops and panel talk
Platform: Microsoft TEAMS
Age advice: 16+
Theme: Common Good