What a piece of work is a man! (...or woman)

DRONING ON

As the government ever so discreetly announces its plans ‘to spend more than $6.5* billion to purchase 657 military drones,  including 10 Reaper MQ-9s, which are armed with Hellfire ­missiles plus laser-guided 500lb bombs and can hover 20,000ft above targets for more than 20 hours’, I begin to notice the interplay between my dear children's addiction to computer games and the new-wave of arms-length war-mongering, with a mounting anxiety. Great to know our games operators can be thousands of miles away from their anonymous, pixilated targets.

On a more positive note and outside of the world of warfare and sport, the potentials of play and games as agents of change are seldom acknowledged and explored. However, the landscape of game making and playing is undergoing a radical transformation and recent developments are highlighting the possibilities of game design in engaging wider social processes, aligned to activism, journalism, interpersonal communication and community development. MMU is launching the Games and Social Change Network on Wednesday 19th Feb. You can find out more about this free event which has a range of exciting international speakers by clicking on the darling little hover-fly below, which I'm guessing, wasn't photographed over Blackpool beach..

After many long hours of travel recently, I sat, disoriented, in a damp waiting room at Crewe train station. It was as turgid as it gets, all neon chrome-yellow - deathly silent - save for the oozing ambient dribble of dub-step from my dull-eyed neighbour. All eyes down. Everyone in the room was some hideous version of me. All balding, middle aged men. Admittedly there were a few shiny and ill-fitting suits, but all blokes of a certain age and all, with the exception of yours truly, slavishly working their tablets and phones - plugged in and tuned out to all the world - other than their very, very personal ones.

Were they all really messaging friends, or were they scrolling through old mail in the hope of feeling loved? I felt very disconnected.

Then, as though to puncture my reverie, some phone goes off and everyone recoils to the sound of the ‘old phone’ ring-tone, which judging by the desperate sudden twitching of my compadres, meant a good few of them were desperately cloying for some nostalgia. We all flinch, (me too) and this particularly dim-witted fellow - tall - stooped - balding and with an air of desperation, began yelling down some invisible corded handset, ‘I’m really angry.’ I don’t know what was worse, the inane staring into the screens, or the gibbering angry idiot? Are we all really that indispensable, important people, with vital business to attend to? Or worse still, all loved up, swapping 140 character sonnets and sex-flicks? Good grief!

I must admit though, I’ve become rather slavish to my email and part of me thinks, I’ve had enough. So taking a friends advice about making changes (thank you), I’m going to test myself. My response-rate to emails is improbably high, as is my saying ‘yes’ to things that contribute to my slow decline (but sorry if I deleted you by mistake) and I am thus diagnosing myself as having, ‘internet addiction disorder’...this is real right? The DSM says so, so it must be true. I am putting down my iPhone and picking up my old phone (Ericsson t28 actually, and according to my offspring, ‘retro’) and will only have phone/text. No camera, no music, no web and no email! So, in the name of self-preservation I’m signing out of my virtual world and will only check work email from a desktop once a day, for this next month. I am told, that digital innovation is where it’s at. Well, for the next month, I’m a Luddite and proud.

*I know this is in dollars, but I’m quoting the media reports

For more details of SICK FESTIVAL at which I'm chairing a debate about the relationship between how we live and die and culture and the arts, click on the festival programme below.

2014/15 Clore Leadership Programme

The Clore Leadership Programme is currently inviting applications for 2014/15 Fellowships from exceptional individuals with the potential to take on significant leadership roles within culture. The Fellowship Programme supports the personal and professional development of leaders through in-depth learning, tailored to the needs, aspirations and circumstances of around twenty-five individuals a year, with the aim of building an innovative and resilient cultural sector. Fellows take a total of approximately eight months away from work to focus on the programme and benefit from unparallelled access to experienced leaders, a diverse peer group and extensive networks. The deadline for applications is 12noon, Friday 7 February 2014. For further details on the Programme and to access the online application form, please click on the fine wines below.

Community Right to Challenge Grant programme 

The Government has announced a new £10 million financial support scheme that will help voluntary organisations take over the running of public services in their communities. The Community Right to Challenge Grant Programme complements the wider Community Assets and Services Programme. Communities which want to take over the running of local services can apply for funding. These grants will not be available by open application but the SIB will invite applications from relevant bodies against a set of criteria which will be published on the SIB website. SIB expects that many of these service delivery grants will include a repayable element.

For more details, click on the photograph of Tory Councillor Matthew Palmer checking stocks and shares prices* during a council meeting about (amongst other things), cuts to mental health services. Cllr Palmer, have you considered you may have Internet Addiction Disorder?

New programme for disabled artists 

(England & Scotland) 

Following the successful Unlimited project which was at the heart of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad and celebrated the work of disabled artists, Shape and Arts admin have been awarded £1.5 million by Arts Council England to deliver a new three year commissioning programme to support disabled artists in developing ambitious and high quality work, will be delivered throughout England and Scotland.  'Unlimited' will not only help disabled artists develop their practice and encourage the development of new relationships and collaborations with producers, venues and promoters, but will also increase distribution of disabled artists' work (through digital means and touring up to an international level), affording greater opportunities for audiences to see the work. The funding is available both to individual disabled artists and organisations applying on behalf of disabled artists. The deadline for applications is 12noon on the 17th February 2014. Read more by clicking on the sublime image of artist Sue Austin. 

CALLING ALL FILM MAKERS

The international film competition for the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival is now open. Whether you are an established industry professional or an aspiring amateur, if your work engages with and explores mental health, then we want to hear from you.

In its broadest sense ‘mental health’ is a term which touches most aspects of our lives. We want to encourage films which explore all aspects of mental health. Films can address specific mental health issues, but we’re also keen to encourage innovative and diverse perspectives.

Previous winning films have examined issues including ageing, childhood, equality, friendship, grief, music and sport, as well as specific mental health conditions. 2013 attracted entries from Scotland, other parts of the UK, Continental Europe, Turkey, Israel, India, Bangladesh, Australia, Canada and the USA. Last year's Festival drew crowds of 16,000 at over 300 events in 17 regions across Scotland, making it the busiest festival to date! Entry is free. The closing date for entries is Friday 11th April 2014. Click on the logo below.

A footnote on Dementia and Imagination call for contemporary artists...although I mentioned last week, that phone calls and emails asking for more dials will largely go unanswered, because of the volume, I still received questions like this one: 'You know the mandatory training for artists - is it mandatory?' Please lord, no more.

Україна
... Якщо ви читаєте це в Україні, будь ласка увійти в контакт і поділитися своїми інтересами...

OK...take care, thank you and goodbye for now...C.P. 

*A Tory councillor has been caught checking share prices in a meeting about cuts. Photos taken from the public gallery during a Kensington and Chelsea council meeting clearly show Cllr Matthew Palmer perusing charts for various stocks on his council laptop. While members discussed issues such as cuts to mental health services and council enforcement officers, Cllr Palmer seemed to be more interested in the performance of the following stocks:

Land Securities Group Plc, Sage Group Plc, Avanti Communications Group Plc, Samsun, Electronics Co Ltd, Unilever Plc.

Allt fast och beständigt förflyktigas

This last week, I’ve been on a residential as part of the Grundtvig funded, I AM: Art as an Agent for Change project in and around the environs of Florence and as guests of Gruppo Incontro, to whom a big thank you for your generous hospitality. Thanks too, for the lovely productive meeting with staff at Palazzo Strozzi. Che shock - Sono come Lady Di buttarmi giù per le scale! Mio caro Tiberio, Manuela, Ilaria, Paola e Paola, Francesca, Nicoletta, Joe, Mark & ​​Billo - Sono mortificata. Mi scusi. Deve essere stato tutto quel caffè, o semplicemente come Julie Christie in Don't Look Now, ho predetto la mia morte!

Over the next few months artists from the UK, Turkey and Italy will be working across the partner countries and in April, I’ll be hosting Cristina Nunez, Selda Asal and Ali Zaidi for a weeks workshops and residential, here at MMU. We’ll be undertaking some public events around self-portraiture and substance addiction and recovery. All will be advertised here and on the main Arts for Health website. We’ll also be holding a day symposium to share all the work, here at MMU in July, and sharing the first incarnation of the RECOVERIST MANIFESTO. The session that’s going to be held at The Brink in Liverpool is more or less fully booked. Email confirmation will be sent to everyone who’s asked to attend, over the next couple of weeks. I can confirm sessions for this work will also be happening in Turkey and Italy, but if you’re in a European country that isn’t part of this project, you can still get involved. So, if you work with people in recovery and want to give voice to your experience, just get in touch. 

DEMENTIA & IMAGINATION - ARTIST COMMISSIONS

Of course, I’ve been bombarded with emails and phone calls about the dementia and imagination call for artists expressions of interest. I seriously can’t reply to them all and that’s why I mentioned in the briefing, that expecting individual call-backs might be a tad unrealistic. The key things I’d say are: we’re looking for some evidence of your arts practice - and that doesn’t have to be in a dementia setting - and critically, some kind of vision, something that excites us about your work. You don’t have to give an explicit proposal, simply show us what you do and give us an exciting idea about how you might work on this project.

THIS AND THAT
The next few months sees some interesting events happening in the North West and further afield. In Falmouth next month, I’ll be supporting Arts for Health Cornwall in their delivery of Beyond the Toolkit: Understanding & Evaluating Craft Praxis, Health & Wellbeing, at which I’ll be Blasting and Bombardiering around arts, health and wellbeing, (see, those naughty Italians have had an influence on me, via Wyndham Lewis).

Start in Salford are organising 'Mental Health: Everyone's Business', a North West Mental Health Conference, on Tuesday 18th March 2014 and their keynote speaker is Ruby Wax.

Streetwise Opera is an award-winning charity that uses music to help homeless people make positive changes in their lives. We do this through a weekly music programme in 10 homeless centres across England and Wales and by staging critically-acclaimed opera productions starring our homeless performers. The Answer to Everything is an interactive film and live opera event set in a conference run by fictional property developer, Locateco Solutions. Our ninth major production stars Streetwise Performers from around the UK. They will be performing at the Cornerhouse on 10th February.

The International Conference on Urban Health will be taking place in Manchester between 4th and 7th March. Professor Sir Michael Marmot is one of the many big names speaking and right at the bottom of the agenda, Arts and Health has a slot too! Hoorah. Now what to do about those inequalities? Seriously though, I’ll give it my best shot to largely a scientific community.

And if all of this isn’t enough to give you convulsions, I’ll be involved with SICK 2014, a festival in Brighton on March 11th, where I’ll be extending some of the thinking I shared last year in Mortality: Death and the Imagination. This year I’ll be chairing a debate called PRESENT TENSE: Confronting Mortality. 

This debate will bring together artists, health professionals and free-thinkers to discuss mortality and particularly the ways in which we might exercise control over the manner in which we die. Whilst rational dialogue about assisted dying is still largely a taboo and divisive subject, we aim to bring together people who confront the issues head-on through their work and practice. With perspectives from the world of contemporary art, palliative care and philosophy, this conversation will explore the liminal space between life and death and the choices we might make. You can find all the details by clicking on the logo above. 

For colleagues and friends old and new, I hope the year ahead brings us great things. From small seeds a mighty trunk may grow.

ART THERAPY & ONCOLOGY - A QUESTION

Are you an art therapist who has extensive experience working in oncology and who is either a trainer and/or comfortable speaking to large groups? If so, get in touch about a potential opportunity.

Next weeks blog will see a return to all the funding and work opportunities that you've grown to expect, but for now, take care and thank you as ever for stopping by...Clive

Need a New Year’s Resolution? Try Exercise!

By Ahmed Raza Khan, MD, MPH

Follow@AhmedRazaKhanMD

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Physician at Stanford University
School of Medicine



Most people know that exercise is beneficial for cardiac health and is prescribed by physicians for the prevention and alleviation of various medical complications. But what if I told you exercise can also significantly benefit your mental health in more ways than one? Let’s take a look at some of the ways exercise can improve mental health and how to incorporate this into your new year’s resolution list!

Exercise and Depression Prevention:More than 350 million people in the world suffer from depression and it is the leading
cause of disability worldwide.  Exercise
has often been considered as a supplemental tool in treating depression, but
recent evidence points to exercise playing a role in the prevention of future
depressive episodes. These recent findings show that even low levels of
physical activity (e.g., walking less than 150 minutes a week) can prevent
future depression. There has been significant research in the last few years
that links cardiovascular health’s role in the origin of depression. This would
certainly be a plausible explanation for why exercise may prevent depression.



Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention:Alzheimer’s
disease is a chronic, degenerative disease of the brain that affects over
25 million people in the world. This illness leads to a progressive mental
decline, steering its victims to dependence on caregivers and, eventually,
death. Amyloid plaques are abnormal clusters of protein fragments that are
found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and are thought to
play a major role in its progression. Recent studies have found that people who
exercised at or above the levels recommended by the American Heart Association
had significantly lower numbers of amyloid plaques than those who exercised
less. This was the case for even those who carried the APOE-e4 gene
variant, which is an established risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. When
people with the APOE-e4 gene variant were compared, those with higher levels of
exercise had lower levels of amyloid plaques.



Improving Cognitive Functioning:Exercise has been shown
to increase cognitive functioning in rats. As rats get older, their memory
tends to diminish and this appears to be due to a drop of nerve synapses in the
hippocampus, the memory center of the brain. But after 12 weeks of voluntary
running, both memory and hippocampus nerve synapses were restored in these
rats.



Consistency in Exercise:Recent neuroscientific
studies have shown that the cognitive benefit of exercise may have a window of
time. In fact, rats that improved their cognitive functioning by exercise, had
this improvement dissipate in 3-6 weeks of inactivity. This is similar to what
is seen with muscle mass or heart rate when exercise is withdrawn. This
evidence intimates that exercise is beneficial for the brain and should be
performed consistently.



The American Heart Association is a great
resource for planning the amount and type of exercise one needs. They recommend
at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity at least 5 days a
week for a total of 150 minutes or at least 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic
activity 3 days a week for a total of 75 minutes. An easy target to remember:
30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

Tweet

祸是我

Dementia and Imagination

There are 3 weeks left to get your expression of interest in, if you’re interested being recruited as a contemporary artist in one of our three research sites. Click on the ground below for details.

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Dr Katherine Taylor to the arts and health community too! Katherine will be taking up her post in February, as a Research Associate with me working on the Dementia and Imagination project. She is a clinical psychologist who will bring bags of experience, knowledge, passion and creativity to this field of work, and I am thrilled to be working with her. Welcome Katherine!

Evaluating the Relationship between Physical Activity and Mental Health

A Research Development Award has been secured by Arts for Health to conduct research under the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Cultural Value Project. Between February and July 2014, we’ll be undertaking an evaluation of the ways in which the long-term relationship between arts participation and physical and mental health is currently being addressed in the UK and internationally. Arts and health professionals will be consulted about metrics appropriate to assessing their work, and recommendations will be made to aid longitudinal measurement of the relationship between the arts and health. More details very soon. But for now, the Pitiful Pillow will take you to the sublime Irma Thomas.

Public Health and Vulnerable Groups: 

Access to Quality Health Care Services

From 28 June to 10 July 2010, the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) organised the 16th edition of the ASEF University (AU16) in partnership with the Medical University of Łódź. As a component of the overall activities of the ASEF Public Health Network on “Health and Vulnerable Groups” (2010-2011), AU16 was themed “Public Health and Vulnerable Groups: Access to Healthcare Services”. AU16 engaged 28 participants from 26 ASEM countries in experts’ lectures and interactive workshops, to which Arts for Health contributed. The final output of AU16 was a set of policy recommendations drafted by the participants. In line with ASEF’s mission, ASEFUAN organises projects that promote intercultural dialogue between Asia and Europe, particularly among the younger generations. This publication contains background information on AU16, its programme, summaries of sessions by the experts, as well as the policy recommendations developed by the participants. Click on the image below for details.

Accurate Scenarios Active Preparedness:

Multi-sector Pandemic Preparedness

This booklet is an outcome of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) - Accurate Scenarios Active Preparedness (ASEF-ASAP) project, in which Arts for Health took part. The publication has the first-hand information on the rationale behind the development as well as the applications of the ASEF-ASAP scenarios. These scenarios were developed through a series of participatory workshops organised by the ASEF Public Health Network. The publication is produced with the active contribution of a number of participants from multiple sectors that have a stake in pandemic preparedness across Asia and Europe. This guarantees the necessary relevance of the scenarios for a broad range of actors who will be involved in effective future pandemic preparedness. Click on the image below.

New programme for disabled artists 

(England & Wales)

Following the successful Unlimited project which was at the heart of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad and celebrated the work of disabled artists, Shape and Arts admin have been awarded £1.5 million by Arts Council England to deliver a new three year commissioning programme to support disabled artists in developing ambitious and high quality work, will be delivered throughout England and Scotland.  'Unlimited' will not only help disabled artists develop their practice and encourage the development of new relationships and collaborations with producers, venues and promoters, but will also increase distribution of disabled artists' work (through digital means and touring up to an international level), affording greater opportunities for audiences to see the work.  The funding is available both to individual disabled artists and organisations applying on behalf of disabled artists. The deadline for applications is 12noon on the 17th February 2014. Read more at http://weareunlimited.org.uk/

People's Postcode Trust Small Grants Programme (Scotland, Wales & N England)

The People's Postcode Trust has announced that its small grants programme is due to re-open for applications on the th January 2014 and close on the 22nd February 2014. Through its small grants programme, the People's Postcode Trust offers grants of between £500 and £10,000 to small organisations and community groups for projects lasting up to 6 months in the areas of Poverty Prevention; Advancement of Health; Community Development; Public Sports; Human Rights; and Environmental Protection. Eligible regions for this funding round will be Scotland, Wales and the North of England. Read more by clicking on the empty room below.  

Creative Employment Programme (England)

The UK Government has announced that the next closing date for applications to the Creative Employment programme is the 10th January 2014. The £15 million, National Lottery funded programme is aimed at increasing work and training opportunities for unemployed young people. The programme will provide funding for 6,500 new traineeships, apprenticeships and paid internship opportunities to help young unemployed people aged 16 to 24 enter the arts and cultural workforce. The programme will provide part wage grants to employers who create new apprenticeship and internship job opportunities for young unemployed people aged 16-24.Read more at: http://creative-employment.co.uk/the-creative-employment-programme

Welcome Trust People's Awards (UK)

Awards of up to £30,000 are available under the Wellcome Trust's “Peoples” Awards for projects that encourage public debate and understanding of biomedical science. Funding can be for up to three years. Applications can be made by a wide variety of individuals, organisations and partnerships. The next applications deadline is the 31st January 2014. The Trust also makes “Society” Awards.  These are grants in excess of £30,000.  The next preliminary application deadline for “Society” Awards is 5pm on the 28 March 2014. Read more at: http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Public-engagement/Funding-schemes/People-Awards-and-Society-Awards/index.htm

Centre for Social Action Innovation Fund (UK)

The National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) has announced that it is seeking applications through the Social Action Innovation Fund. This is a £14 million Fund to support the growth of innovations that mobilise people's energy and talents to help each other, working alongside public services.  Through the programme, charities, social enterprises, public services and for-profit businesses can apply for grants of between £50,000 and £500,000.  While applicants can be established in any part of the UK, the benefits of their proposals should focus primarily or significantly on England.   The Innovation Fund will focus on a small number of big social challenges.  The current priority is helping unemployed people improve their skills and get back to work, including through supporting enterprise and self-employment. To apply organisations need to submit an Expression of Interest form by the 31st March 2014. Read more by clicking on the sad pie face.