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Taking Care of Ourselves (virtual)

Join artist and Arts & Health Hub Director Daniel Regan for this creative online session that explores the myriad of ways that we can care for ourselves in the work that we do as artists.

For 20 years Daniel has been working at the intersection of arts and health. His career spans producing commissions and works for galleries about his lived experiences of ill mental health to having a complimentary socially engaged practice that often explores complex and difficult subjects such as mental health, suicide, racism and loss, working in various community and clinical settings with often vulnerable participants. This rewarding, yet heavy work, can weigh on many of us who work in the Creative Health sector.

In autumn 2022 Daniel was awarded a bursary from a-n to explore the development of an individualised support framework to help him think about how to sustainably work in this sector, including working with experts to:

  • Think about practical ways to manage fees and workloads, including building awareness of the 'weight' of current and upcoming works and emotional capacity to work on such projects;

  • Explore how to better implement and ask for support when working on projects that have the potential for exposure to distressing conversations and content;

  • Identify and notice via embodied methods when work is causing a significant disruption, and figuring out how to create change or process the residual feelings.

In this session Daniel will share his findings and will take you through a creative and collaborative exploration of what taking care of ourselves might look like, supporting you to gently build up the beginnings of your own support framework.

This session is ideal for artists working in the arts and health sector who are:

  • Looking to explore setting professional and personal boundaries in their work;

  • Exploring and defining what they need to do their best work;

  • Making work that explores their lived experience of illness;

  • Struggling to let go of the content they are exposed to at work.

This session is not recorded.

 

What are others saying about this workshop?

It has made me reflect - I am doing a lot of the “right” things already – colour coding diary, boundaries, clarity around what good work looks like, journaling, processing etc - but the big difference your session has made is to help me to see these things as my RIGHT! Not things I need to do to look after myself because I am somehow struggling or not coping.”

”I really value you sharing your toolkit with us so that we can reflect on our own self-care strategies. It was an incredibly rich workshop. Your exemplary prioritising of self-care to best fulfil creative work is extremely inspiring.”

“It felt great to take the time to stop and reflect — I don’t often do it and this has inspired me to do it more often!”

“This was better than 1 year of monthly reflective practice!”

“I will take away: the importance of taking time, the importance of reflecting, that letting go matters, that I matter most…
— Previous Participants
 

Questions etc
If you're not sure if this event is for you or if you have any questions please contact info@artsandhealthhub.org.

Online
This is an online event taking place over Zoom for 2 hours and 30mins, with a 15 minute comfort break in the middle.

Materials Needed

You’ll need some basic materials to participate in this workshop, including:

  • At least 7 sheets of plain paper/card;

  • A circular object that you can draw around that fits on your paper, such as a bowl or plate;

  • Scissors;

  • Drawing/writing materials such as pens, pencils, pastels - whatever you feel most comfortable with.

Cost.

£15 (includes £1.50 booking fee)

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March 18

March Artist Peer Group (virtual)

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May 23

Phenomenology: A Film Screening Night Exploring Mental Health (in person)