Recently my colleague Harriet and I had a wonderful evening at the beautiful ARC arts centre in Stockton-on-Tees. We had been invited to an evening with Infant Hercules run by the one and only Mike McGrother. We have asked Mike to write more about the group for which we are providing financial support, but in brief it is a group of local men who have struggles with their mental health and who meet weekly to sing and chat. You could be forgiven for thinking there is a Peaky Blinders vibe going on with all those collarless shirts, waist coats and flat caps. It was enormous fun, as well as very moving, and everyone, including us, left on a high.
That led me to think about what we have been doing to support singing and why it is so effective at lifting the spirits and giving expression to feelings – whether in a choir or solo.
This strand of work has a long history for us and was prominent in our ten-year long programme for creative ageing until 2020. Examples included the Choir in Every Care Home initiative which we commissioned from Live Music Now, the Dementia Inclusive Singing Network still run by Luminate in Scotland, which also produced songs for people living in the community with dementia with well-known Scottish folk singer, Karine Polwart.
Singing is very much to the fore in our current programme of creative opportunities for people with mental health problems. Our grant to Together Productions led to the creation of a resource for mental health inclusive choirs which was recently launched.
An area that has been especially thoroughly researched has been the impact of music on mums with mental health problems. I really enjoyed another visit to a lovely project, Melodies for Mums, run by arts and health research agency Breathe in South London. We have funded Yaram Arts to particularly work with mothers in London with African heritage. Here is more from Harriet about using the arts with new parents, especially singing. And if you want to find out more about this fascinating area go to Live Music Now’s Lullaby Symposium in Cardiff on 18 July.
An especially memorable project using song was a grant for the Imperial War Museum to commission work from veterans who had experienced mental health problems, including PTSD, to accompany their major exhibition War and the Mind. The work was led by the Soldiers Arts Academy and their original composition can be heard here.
Singing and music making are frequently combined in the same arts and mental health organisation. A prime example is Key Changes, which we are currently funding to work in forensic mental health units. Key Changes works in hospitals as well as the community and operates in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Brighton. Over two thirds of their service users come from a Global Majority background and a majority are under 30 years old. They hold open mic sessions, usually for solo singing or rapping rather than group singing. A strong strand of their work is support in composition which can include writing songs to express feelings around mental health.
And to round things off: as so often, there is really interesting work happening with arts organisations working with people in recovery from addictions. You can find out more here in a recent Baring Foundation report. Examples include the Rising Voices Recovery Choir run by the Bristol Drugs Project, the Glasgow Barons, and the Not Saints record label for people in recovery.
Last week, we launched our joint fund for arts and mental health at the Mac art centre in Belfast with the Arts Council Northern Ireland. We all sat entranced as the remarkable duo, Aqua Tofana, sang about the power of music for mental health – treat yourself and listen to Unconditionally.