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Putting arts and creativity at the heart of wellbeing

Arts Well champions the role of the arts and creativity in promoting health and wellbeing

About Arts Well

Arts Well champions the role of the arts and creativity in promoting health and wellbeing. It works with organisations, large and small, to develop projects and programmes that respond to identified needs.

There’s growing evidence that participation in creative activities transforms lives – improving physical, mental, social and emotional health.

With extensive knowledge of the arts and health sector and with experience of working at both strategic and practical levels, Arts Well develops projects and programmes, taking an outcomes-based approach and using co-production models in the development of its work.

Who We Are

Jayne Howard

Founder and Managing Director

Jayne has extensive experience of working in arts and health: she was Director of the national-award winning Arts for Health Cornwall for 11 years, during which time it delivered a wide range of programmes and had far-reaching impact on individuals, organisations and communities and received the Arts and Health South West Outstanding Individual Contribution to arts and health in 2016.

Her belief in the power of creativity and the arts to transform wellbeing in communities and individuals is grounded in a career in education and the NHS, including as a Director of Public Health for Central Cornwall; over 15 years of initiating, advising and collaborating on arts-based health projects in Cornwall; and a passion for the arts and the power of partnerships.

She is a qualified teacher, workplace coach and mentor, action learning facilitator and has postgraduate qualifications in art and design history, English literature and professional writing.

Her job roles have been characterised by an emphasis on partnership working and collaborations to improve the experiences of individuals and communities and to tackle social injustice and inequalities. She has wide experience on many Boards, including being Chair of Arts and Health South West for five years, Chair of Volunteer Cornwall and Chair of Healthwatch Cornwall.

She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Artists and co-Chair of Lapidus Cornwall, a branch of the international writing for wellbeing organisation.

Tracey Lee

Director

Tracey is a senior NHS manager, with experience of working in a range of organisations across South West England and Wales, most recently as Programme Director for the Shaping Our Future partnership, established to improve how health, social care and wellbeing services are delivered for people across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

She spent her early career in general practice management, and has worked in a range of NHS organisations, held a senior position in a Strategic Health Authority and managed a multi-agency, countywide Health Action Zone, leading to demonstrable change and health benefit. She was previously Director of Corporate Governance and Communications and Deputy Chief Executive at Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust.

Working across systems and focusing on equalities have been strong themes underpinning the roles she has undertaken. Work that she led on equality issues, strategic communications and stakeholder relations secured regional and national awards. She has a Masters in Health Care (Contemporary Issues), and is a graduate from the Common Purpose programme.

She is delighted to be part of Arts Well, recognising the significant contribution arts can make to people’s health and well being. She also sits on the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee for St Piran’s Cross Muti-Academy Trust. Away from work, she enjoys family life with her husband and young daughter.

Jane Moss

Director

Jane Moss is a writer and facilitator of creative writing and writing for wellbeing. She has a special interest in writing as part of bereavement support and counselling and has worked with hospices and bereavement services including Princess Alice Hospice, Cruse UK, Kingston Carers, and Meadow House Hospice. She provides training for bereavement support teams based on her book Writing in Bereavement, A Creative Handbook (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2012).

Jane was formerly a Communications Director at Arts Council England and the Community Empowerment policy units at the Home Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government. She returned home to Cornwall in 2013, where she co-hosts The Writing Retreat (www.thewritingretreat.co.uk) and runs community writing groups. She is a Trustee of WildWorks theatre company and was a board member of Arts For Health Cornwall & Isles of Scilly from 2015–16.

Her doctoral research at Falmouth University is funded by AHRC and is an enquiry into the writing of a collaborative novel as a means of community participation.

To find out more about Jane visit www.janemoss.com

John Howard

Director

John is a fine art printmaker and has been self-employed for most of his working life. He opened a printmaking studio in Penryn in 2006 in an iconic eco-building, offering courses, workshops and open access to other printmakers as well as making his own work. He worked in industry in the Midlands for several years before studying Fine Art at Birmingham City University, where he graduated with a first-class honours degree in 1989. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE) in 1995 and a Member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) in 1996, where he is now an Honorary Fellow.

John moved to Cornwall in 1995 for greater personal and professional fulfilment and has been an Associate Lecturer at Falmouth University since 1996, as well as visiting lecturer at other academic institutions across the country. He has run several community workshops for groups including young people in care, people being supported by homelessness charities and carers. He believes that the arts – including music, performance, crafts and many others – are fundamental to our wellbeing and has seen how the opportunity to engage in a creative process can lift the spirits, increase confidence and improve learning skills.

To see John's work visit www.johnhowardprintmaker.com and to find out about his studios see www.johnhowardprintstudios.com

What We Do

Arts Well offer a range of services aimed at improving health and wellbeing of individuals, groups and communities

  • Activities & Programmes

  • Training & Resources

  • Consultation & Evaluation

  • Advice

  • Partnerships, Networking & Events

Learn More About What Arts Well Does

Aims of the Organisation

Collaborative Projects

To deliver a range of successful collaborative projects which improve mental health and wellbeing of people living in the community.

Creative Activities

To deliver a programme of creative activities within care homes for older people, with a particular emphasis on addressing the needs of those with dementia.

Network

To grow a network for arts, health and wellbeing with CPD opportunities.

Build Confidence

To build confidence in the contribution of the arts and creativity to health and wellbeing.

Values

  • Addressing inequality and ensuring inclusivity
  • Harnessing the power of creativity
  • Collaborating and sharing knowledge to maximise benefit
  • Championing the role of the arts and creativity in promoting health and wellbeing
  • Ensuring sustainability in our work

Partners, Collaborators & Funders

Arts Well is supported by the following organisations.