These case studies showcase examples of diverse arts and health projects which are characterised by clear artistic vision, goals and outcomes, and are delivered by professional artists. The diversity of artforms, contexts, partnerships and structures gives an insight into the full range of arts and health practice.
To contribute an arts and health case study please e-mail info@artsandhealth.ie to request a template.
Case study
Irish Hospice Foundation have been developing a Compassionate Culture Network across Ireland since 2021. These are spaces facilitated by artists for people to gently explore loss and how compassion connects through a variety of creative practices. Initially supported by Creative Ireland, additional support from Rethink Ireland’s Impact Fund for Munster enabled expansion across Munster in 2023.
1 November, 2024
Case study
Exploring the role of music in mental health recovery for individuals attending community mental health services and those in residential settings in County Wexford, the programme is funded as part of the Arts Ability Programme, a partnership with the HSE Mental Health Services and Wexford County Council Arts Department.
18 December, 2023
Case study
Participatory artist and maker Ciara Harrison worked with a group of young people who access the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Waterford. During the summer of 2022, they embroidered, painted, wrote, and explored many different craft and artistic mediums together.
28 November, 2023
Case study
Past Times and Voices of Spring are two large community choirs in Kildare welcoming older people, including those living with dementia and other age-related illnesses. The choirs are supported by Kildare County Council Arts Service and have been directed by Sharon Murphy and Sadhbh O’Sullivan since January 2015.
1 February, 2023
Case study
Tune In is a multidisciplinary collaboration between filmmakers Aoise Tutty Jackson and Maggie Ryan with members of the 49 North Street community in Skibbereen and MusicAlive. The project was a response to Covid-19 restrictions with a focus on sound, music and ‘Tuning In’.
2 May, 2021
Case study
Founded by musicians and Arts & Health practitioners Sharon Murphy and Sadhbh O’Sullivan, Embrace Music is a social enterprise on a mission to provide far-reaching opportunities for engaging with music.
1 April, 2021
Case study
Freedom to Fly, hosted by MusicAlive, is an interdisciplinary, participatory project that engages older people in collaboration with Helga Deasy (choreographer and dancer) and Susan McManamon (musician and choir leader).
1 March, 2021
Case study
A multimedia project devised by artist Rosaleen Heavin in response to Covid-19 restrictions. Delivered online, the project explores experiences of lockdown and isolation with participants from Longford/Westmeath Adult Mental Health Services and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
1 February, 2021
Case study
Building on the award-winning Acting for the Future project, Smashing Times is the lead partner on Theatre for Positive Mental Health, promoting collaborative exchange and mutual learning between five partner organisations across Europe.
2 July, 2019
Case study
In 2018, artist Toma McCullim worked with the residents, staff and visitors of Skibbereen Hospital Campus on a collaborative art project to create a bronze public sculpture for the Hospital Grounds.
4 January, 2019
Case study
The Discover/Recover Theatre Project is a mental health educational drama initiative. Embedding local stories in local communities through the medium of theatre, the project is led by Wexford Mental Health Association.
14 August, 2018
Case study
PHOTOVOICES is a collaborative arts project examining through the camera lens the lived experiences of mental health in the Midlands of Ireland in 2017.
1 January, 2018
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