Harriet Lowe and I have recently had the pleasure of joining colleagues in Finland to discuss creative ageing. Harriet wrote about this in her blog. This made me realise that I had missed a trick by not looking into what is happening in terms of creative opportunities for people with mental health problems and here is what I found.
The jewel in the crown in Finland for arts and mental health has to be the beautiful Lapinlahden Lähde. In common with other European countries in the 19th century, the then governing Russian monarchy built a magnificent asylum in 1841 in Helsinki in a lovely park next to a bay. It was considered important for patients’ recovery that their environment was attractive. The hospital continued to operate through the dramas of the next century, including Finnish independence and into the early 21st Century. At that point the city contemplated turning the hospital first into supported living apartments and later into hotel and more private commercial facilities (as has happened in the UK) but a collective of local people were successful in appealing this and creating a community centre focussed on arts and wellbeing.
Now housing numerous initiatives and many freelance artists, Lapinlahden Lähde is constantly alive with painting, music, singing, drama and film-making on any day of the week. It is run by a hybrid organisation consisting of an association, a foundation, companies, cooperative and volunteers. It is proud to be a member of a European group of organisations on arts and health developing a business model. Additionally, Lapinlahden Lähde is a full member of Trans Europe Halles, a European network of independent cultural centres. Despite deep financial cuts to public funding from the new Finnish Government, Lapinlahden Lähde is developing as a major social enterprise with arts and mental health as its founding principle. The next step for Lapinlahden Lähde is seeking to replicate itself through setting up community centres / social enterprises outside Helsinki.
The next major organisation to consider is MIELI (Finnish for Mind). Its structure is the same as the charity in England with a central organisation with a staff of around 160 and a series of 60 independent local partners throughout Finland. Although these are often small and sometimes volunteer run, they routinely offer creative activities. The major creative initiative of MIELI has been running since 2014 and is the annual Mental Health Art Week, on the model of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival.
One of the things that strikes me as a contrast between the UK and Finland is that there are very few arts organisations taking a lead on arts and mental health, but there are many freelance artists working with mental health specialist organisations.
Something of an exception is the growing phenomenon of Culture Houses (Kukunori-kulttuuripajat) in Finland. These are the brainchild of a social entrepreneur Markus Raivio. The basic model is to use a community centre as a base for creative activities aimed at young people up to the age of thirty. There are now over 20 in Finland. Markus wrote about this in a blog for the Foundation. There have been some exchanges between Finland and the UK around this model and we have funded an example by Community Music Wales as part of an open round of funding for creative activities for men with mental health problems in 2024.
A really striking feature to me writing this blog is this exchange of models between Britain and Finland, as shown in the use of national arts festivals and Culture Houses. This has also happened with our respective creative ageing sectors. It is to the benefit of both nations and long may it continue.
