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As part of its Community Engagement and Diversity business plan theme, MLA North West is developing a focus on the health agenda in its widest sense, seeking to identify activity and possible measures of the impact that the sector can and does have on mental and physical health and wellbeing.
We hope to then use this evidence to advocate on behalf of the sector to regional stakeholders and policymakers, promoting the role of the sector as a key player within the health agenda, and exploring further involvement and opportunities for museums, libraries and archives.
Work is already taking place regionally and nationally to gather evidence of the impact of the arts on health; there are also examples of good practice in our sector, including:
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bibliotherapy schemes and “books on prescription” within libraries
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volunteers with mental health issues playing key roles as guides in museums and galleries
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using archives as a means of exploring personal identity and building confidence
We would like to build up a more comprehensive regional picture of the impact of museums, libraries and archives on health. We want to hear about examples of your work, to build up case studies connected to the health agenda. You can contact Nicola Siminson to find out more about our case study database, and how it links into regional and national advocacy work.
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