A group of people are on stage in a dynamic pose. The person closest to the camera is in a deep lunge with her arms outstretched. They are all wearing black outfits.
A group of people are on stage in a dynamic pose. The person closest to the camera is in a deep lunge with her arms outstretched. They are all wearing black outfits.

Recovery arts

On 8 September, UWL played host to an all-day event to celebrate the central role performing arts organisations can play in recovery for people with addiction or wellbeing issues.

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The event, which is a UWL seed funding initiative, was designed to foster knowledge exchange and help to build links between specialist arts organisations. Its organiser, Dr Cathy Sloan, who is Course Leader for BA  Applied Theatre and BA  Actor Musicianship degree courses at UWL, explains.  

The aim was for the University to engage with this developing network and give organisations an opportunity to share their practices. Dr Zoe Zontou from Liverpool Hope University and I are the only academics specialising in this area, and we are working together on improving their visibility and making connections with people attached to policy making, funding and commissioning this kind of work.”   

 

A woman wearing a red patterned dress is standing in front of a black curtain on stage holding a microphone. There are people seated in the foreground of the photo.

The event featured live performances and interactive workshops for over 100 invited guests, including representatives of the Arts Council, specialist trusts and social prescribing commissioners.   

We staged a recovery arts take-over of the campus. The programme was relaxed and inclusive, supporting interaction between performers and commissioners.”

Cathy says.

The UK is currently leading in this area and the next step would be to develop the network internationally. 

The next event will be hosted by Zoe in Liverpool and then we are planning a more formal conference style event next year. I am hoping to set up some kind of formalised hub, and to facilitate connections between commissioners, interested parties and the network of specialist practitioners,"

Cathy adds.

Cathy will use the new BA  Applied Theatre course to allow students to train in some of the methods used.

Working with personal stories particularly lived experience, we can help people going through a journey of transformation and change to create new work. There is great potential for us to do collaborations with students, or even create our own recovery arts project.” 

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