Seventeenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

Lime are an arts and health organisation based in Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) since 1973, providing ward based and community workshops for health. In 2018, Lime began to explore running workshops for MFT clinical and support staff in the first print studio set up in a healthcare setting. Then in 2019, the pandemic hit. Lime lost their premises, as the space was needed for administrative staff, and the core team of two looked at being redeployed. Bringing together their artists and advisers, the team discussed an emergency Arts Council Grant application, which was successful. Lime moved its MFT staff provision online, using zoom as a platform, then running a programme of creative writing, visual arts and music workshops for staff wellbeing. That NHS staff were under stress before the pandemic was widely known - once coronavirus hit the hospitals, staff mental wellbeing plummeted further. Using the arts as a tool to explore issues or just to unwind and be creative, with one participant calling the workshops a ‘brain holiday’, the programme is now looking to refer staff into creative workshops. This paper explores the history of the programme and how we can further embed the arts into healthcare.