20 June 2023
The Foundation is delighted to publish today a new report in our ‘Creatively Minded’ series, Creatively Minded and Refugees. The report was compiled and produced by Counterpoints Arts, which coordinates and produces Refugee Week every year.
Refugees often experience high levels of stress, trauma, and mental health issues related to their displacement and resettlement experiences. The Refugee Council, for example, estimates that 61% of asylum seekers experience serious mental illness and they are five times more likely to have mental health needs than the UK population.
Arts and creativity are widely understood to support mental health. In this context, arts organisations and refugee organisations offering creative opportunities have an important role to play in supporting refugees’ mental health. This report showcases the work of 12 organisations who offer creative opportunities, across a range of artforms, and from Glasgow to Calais.
The report makes a number of observations, including in particular that:
- The impact of art on the body’s nervous system, especially for refugees who have experienced trauma, cannot be overstated. The case studies demonstrate the ability of artistic activities, such as group singing, to positively impact physical and mental health.
- Many organisations are filling in gaps that are outside their remit, often where other services are either non-existent or over-subscribed. This is a much-valued role – but reliant on goodwill and not funded. It is important to recognise the extra roles arts projects take on and the resources that are needed to sustain them.
- There is a lack of capacity, with many organisations having to turn people away or establishing long waiting lists which goes against the grain.
- Partnerships with mainstream venues can be really important, bringing increased visibility and reach and helping to reduce stigma around migration and asylum.
The process of creating this report has already enabled Counterpoints Arts to bring these organisations together to share their practice and establish connections that we hope will strengthen and grow an important part of the arts and mental health ecosystem.
Organisations featured in the report are: Artcore; Art Refuge; Compass Collective; Displace Yourself Theatre; Freedom from Torture: Write to Life; Hear Me Out; Inini Initiative; Kazzum Arts; Maryhill Integration Network; Music Action International; Oasis and Together Productions.
