Written By Zara Mahmood, for London Arts and Health
At London Arts and Health we are always looking to promote amazing organisations working with artists making creative workshops and exhibitions. Unruly Bodies has put together a series of events related to arts, culture, society and health. We spoke to Daniel Regan, founder of Arts & Health Hub, who along with Eve Loren has curated the Unruly Bodies Series.
Please tell us about unruly bodies? What is it?
The Unruly Bodies is a season of artist talks, workshops and an exhibition exploring bodies and minds in resistance. Throughout the season we’re examining bodies in resistance: bodies and minds that are different, challenging, celebrated and denigrated. The unruly connection between body and mind.
Where did the idea about this project come from?
Our organisation works with a great deal of artists who are working at the intersection of arts, science and health. Many of them have lived experience of physical and mental health difficulties. We wanted to platform these artists whose fascinating works provide insights into different ways of living and being. We wanted to highlight both the challenges and celebrations of being different.
What do you hope to gain from this series of events?
Working with such a diverse pool of artists has enabled us to establish connections with artists we’d love to work with in the future. It also helps us as an organisation, and humans, to gain insights into diverse identities, considering how we can all be more humane in how we understand and treat each other.
How do you hope to make an impact on people who join these events?
We hope that people who join these events — whether it’s an artist talk, workshops or the exhibition — leave with an insight into different ways of being. It may be that they learn about a particular health condition, or challenge some of the stereotypes and biases they had. We hope that Unruly Bodies will encourage people to think about what is defined as ’normal’ and what’s ‘different’, and where we all sit on that spectrum.
What is Groundwork: designing and implementing support for creative practitioners about?
Groundwork is the Arts & Health Hub’s upcoming training for organisations. We have extensive experience in working as both artists in the sector but also commissioning artists to work in the arts and health sector. This training is for organisations who want to understand, devise and implement support structures for the artists that they work with. We often (and rightly so) consider the safeguarding of participants, but this training supports organisations to consider how they can support and safeguard their artist workforce.
What are your hopes for your future works and projects?
The work we’re doing continues to expand and reach more artists who are making work around health or working in healthcare environments. We’re keen to continue supporting them through the peer to peer support, professional development and cultural producing that we do. We look forward to meeting and working with more artists to champion the arts and health agenda.
Book tickets for Unruly Bodies on Arts & Health Hub’s website, now.
https://www.artsandhealthhub.org
info@artsandhealthhub.org
