Arts + Health: Check Up Check In 2020 postponed to November

Artsandhealth.ie announces that due to the ongoing restrictions related to Covid-19 / Coronavirus, Arts + Health: Check Up Check In 2020 has been postponed and will now take place on Monday 23 November 2020 at Draíocht in Blanchardstown, Dublin.

The programme for this leading national arts and health event will remain unchanged, with the theme Taking Risks, the keynote address by artistic director, contemporary dance choreographer and healthcare professional Dr Jenny Elliott, and presentations by some of the most innovative and creative practitioners working in arts and health in Ireland today.

Check Up Check In 2020 is open to healthcare professionals, arts practitioners and anyone interested in learning more about this exciting field. This national gathering is organised by artsandhealth.ie/Waterford Healing Arts Trust (WHAT) and Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts, with local partners Fingal County Council Arts Office and Draíocht, and is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE.

Artist Marielle MacLeman’s workshop entitled Trust, Risk, Recover – The Scope of Navigation has also been re-scheduled and will now take place on Tuesday 24 November at Draíocht.

All attendees who booked for the original dates for Check Up Check In and/or for Marielle MacLeman’s workshop will be contacted directly and offered the opportunity to keep their ticket for the re-scheduled date or to avail of a full refund.

Additional information about Arts and Health: Check Up Check In 2020
Responding to the event theme Taking Risks, presentations will explore the notion of ‘risk’ for artists compared to healthcare professionals, and the challenge of creating innovative, exciting and inspiring art within the specific context of a health setting.

In her keynote address, Dr Jenny Elliott, Artistic Director of Arts Care, Northern Ireland’s leading arts in healthcare organisation, considers the necessity for artists who practice in healthcare contexts to push boundaries and to engage in experimentation. Through philosophical consideration and examples from professional practice, she will trace the benefits of risk taking and the deep impact of the arts on wellbeing, reducing practice fatigue among artists and nurses in clinical settings and inducing change in healthcare cultures. Jenny will further share her vast experience and offer practical advice for negotiating the challenges of working in arts and health in a workshop setting later in the day.

Check Up Check In promotes solidarity among arts and health practitioners. This national event provides opportunities for participants to share their experiences, exchange ideas and support and inspire each other in their practice through a range of themed presentations, including:

• What’s My Practice? – A series of workshops examining methodologies employed in collaborative/ participatory arts and health practice, involving a range of artforms
• Sticking Points: What to do when you get stuck – Artists and healthcare professionals share challenges they have faced in their work and look for solutions to overcome them
• Other People’s Practices: Dealing with the reality – A conversation with artist John Conway, about an innovative artist residency and research project at Usher’s Island, a National Forensic Mental Health Service community centre
• Take a chance on me: Public Art and Risk – Art curators, artists and healthcare professionals share their experiences of navigating the commissioning process in the healthcare context.

Marielle MacLeman workshop: 24 November
The following day, Tuesday 24 November, artist Marielle MacLeman will host a workshop entitled Trust, Risk, Recover – The Scope of Navigation, where she will explore the complexities and interplay of trust and risk through the creative and administrative processes of arts and health practice. Open to all those involved in the delivery of arts and health projects, participants will be invited to consider negotiation and the vulnerabilities of all stakeholders – patient, artist and supporting staff – and how outcomes, personal resilience and relationships are recovered when things don’t go to plan. The workshop will also include an online contribution from Glasgow-based performance artist Steven Anderson, and will take place at Draíocht, Blanchardstown, with support from Create.

The team from artsandhealth.ie and Waterford Healing Arts Trust will also host advice clinics for anyone working in the area of arts and health on Tuesday 24 November.  The clinics will take place at Draíocht and are free of charge but must be booked in advance by contacting what@hse.ie

Booking information

• Tickets for Arts and Health: Check Up Check In 2020 on Monday 23 November cost €30 (including lunch). Tickets can be booked here: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/arts-and-health-check-up-check-in-2020-tickets-98228129981
• Tickets for Trust, Risk, Recover – The Scope of Navigation, a workshop with Marielle MacLeman on Tuesday 24 November, cost €10. This event is full. Anyone interested in taking part can go on a waiting list by emailing their name and contact tel to what@hse.ie and putting “Workshop Waiting List” in the subject line.

Further information
Please contact Maeve Butler, Waterford Healing Arts Trust (051) 842664 / maevebutler@gmail.com