LAGOS/Nigeria: A new creative programme in Bradford, United Kingdom, will bring artists, cultural practitioners and creative health professionals together on Saturday to explore wellbeing, belonging and some of the pressures associated with careers in the creative sector.
The programme, organised by Bradford-based creative wellbeing curator and Combined Arts Producer, Oluwaseun Dosunmu, will take place at The Care Inn Centre and will combine cultural activities, participatory art and professional conversations around creative wellbeing.
The event is expected to attract artists, arts leaders, cultural programmers, producers and creative health practitioners from across the UK, alongside DJs, musicians, visual artists, poets and other practitioners.
Dosunmu said the initiative was conceived to create opportunities for creatives to discuss issues that can affect their professional and personal lives while using culture and artistic participation to strengthen social connections.
“Culture creates connection; art creates conversation; and conversation creates collective action,” he said.
The programme will bring together three initiatives: Culture Link, Paint Converse and the Global Creative Wellbeing Convention.
Culture Link is designed to use food, language, music, performance and other shared cultural experiences to encourage interaction among people from different backgrounds while providing opportunities for local creative talent.
Paint Converse will use collaborative painting as a means of opening conversations around identity, culture, belonging, community and wellbeing.
The Global Creative Wellbeing Convention, meanwhile, will provide a professional platform for creatives and practitioners working in creative health to discuss issues including burnout, stress, creative blocks, emotional wellbeing, loss, stigma and access to support.
Dosunmu said the programme would also introduce the Global Creative Voice for Wellbeing, bringing together people across the arts and cultural sector to advocate healthier working environments for creatives.
He said one of the objectives was to make conversations around wellbeing less difficult for people in the creative sector and encourage practitioners to seek support when necessary.
“We want to create spaces where creatives can speak openly about their wellbeing, reduce stigma and become more aware of the support available to them,” he said.
Dosunmu noted that creative careers could be fulfilling but also expose practitioners to pressures that were not always immediately apparent, including emotional strain, exhaustion, professional uncertainty and experiences of loss.
The programme will provide an opportunity for participants to examine some of those pressures and consider how stronger networks and open conversations can contribute to healthier creative careers.
The Care Inn Centre, founded and led by Dosunmu, brings together wellbeing practices, arts engagement, cultural programming and community activities as part of his wider approach to creative wellbeing.
Dosunmu said his broader objective was to develop an ecosystem in which creativity and wellbeing could reinforce each other through participation, expression and community connection.
The Bradford programme builds on Dosunmu’s previous creative and wellbeing initiatives, including Culture Link, which was launched in the city in August to promote interaction among people from different cultural backgrounds through food, language, music, storytelling and performance.
The upcoming programme is expected to provide another platform for conversations about the pressures facing creatives while encouraging collaboration between artists, cultural organisations and professionals working in health and wellbeing.
