The residency project, which has been funded by Oxford Health Charity, aims to innovate and expand on the evidence-based CWC programme, by increasing opportunities for staff, patients and relatives to be involved.

Creating with Care works closely with Oxford Health Charity and, together with Artscape, makes up the Oxford Health Arts Partnership. They work across community hospital and mental health wards as well as with teams delivering care in the community.

The groundbreaking arts partnership demonstrates how cultural activities like art, dance, and music can enhance patient and staff wellbeing.

More than eight out of 10 people say it has helped them. Activities help relieve anxiety, depression and stress. In fact, music is known to reduce agitation and the needs for medication in 67% of patients with dementia.

What are the aims of Creating with Care?

• Enhance the wellbeing of patients, relatives and staff in the hospital through participatory arts interventions
• Enhance the hospital environment through these arts interventions.
• Raise awareness of the benefits of arts interventions in healthcare settings.

The artists have a range of experience and skills from dance to storytelling and visual arts, that they will be using when they work on the wards. Alongside the 6 month project we will be evaluating the impact the project has for patients and staff and the overall hospital environment.

Here each artist gives us a brief insight into their experience and artform.

	Mary Chamberlain –Artist Mary is creative practitioner who has worked both as a painter and with arts groups for many years and loves to create environments where people can relax, enjoy and discover their creativity. In her sessions, she uses a range of materials including handmade stencils and often draws inspiration from the natural world. Find out more about Mary’s work here.
Pat Winslow – Poet & Storyteller Pat worked for 12 years as an actor before taking up writing. As a poet and storyteller she has had seven collections published and has worked in hospitals, care homes, educational settings, prisons, lunch clubs and at festivals. She enjoys collaborating with other artists and believes that everyone has a unique view of the world and an important story to tell. Find out more about Pat’s work here.
	Dionne Freeman –Artist Dionne worked as an arts facilitator for over 16 years with a focus on the last decade on accessibility and using the arts to enable new approaches and building confidence and communication skills through painting, drawing and sculpture. With experience of working in a range of educational settings, community groups and ages, Dionne believes everyone can identify, explore and develop their own artistic possibilities and wants to engage with those who need creativity the most. Find out more about Dionne’s work here.
Sarah Moncreiff –Artist Sarah is an artist, interested in painting the urban and industrial spaces that form the backdrop of our lives.  She has taught art for many years to adults, children and residents of care homes and has delivering art workshops to those unable to access art on a regular basis, such as street children in Africa and prisoners in the UK. Find out more about Sarah’s work here.
	Roosa Leimu Brown – Dancer Roosa Leimu-Brown is a dance artist, yoga therapist and a movement educator with a PhD in biology. She is interested in exploring how movement, breath work and mindfulness affect and support physical and mental wellbeing. She combines creative movement and music with targeted functional strength, mobility and balance exercises as well as relaxation techniques and breath exercises. She also likes to use stories and visualization to enhance the movement experience. She is a qualified Postural Stability Instructor and incorporates the falls prevention physiotherapy exercises in her creative dance sessions for older people. Find out more about Roosa here.
Tom Cross – Storyteller & Artist Tom is a Visual storyteller working in animation, drawing, printmaking and digital art. Whatever stories and memories we have from our daily lives Tom will try to capture them with a drawing. All of us use story to understand, contextualise and navigate ourselves though the ups and downs that life throws at us. This can be small and poetic from memories of the smell of your childhood home or a favourite keep sake which sparks off stories that can mean so much. Find out more about Tom here.

We warmly welcome the team to Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and look forward to seeing how the project develops.