UK National Arts Wellbeing Collective Launched To Promote Mental Health In The Arts

Photographer is my life/Getty Images – Mental Health in the arts
Many people still feel like they cannot be honest about their state of mind

The Royal Albert Hall hosted the first meeting of a new collective dedicated to promoting wellbeing in the arts, the UK National Arts Wellbeing Collective.

The UK NAWC is patterned after an Australian initiative established by Arts Centre Melbourne, and brings together more than 60 arts institutions from around the UK, including music venues, theatres, museums, touring companies and unions.

The launch event took place at London’s Royal Albert Hall on April 24.

The Hall’s chief executive Craig Hassall said: “We were proud to host the launch of what promises to be a very positive and significant initiative, drawing together colleagues from many arts organisations, all committed to opening up the conversation around mental health and improving wellbeing support across what can be a highly pressurised industry.”

Speakers at the launch event included Jonathan Curtis, discussing how he and other wellbeing champions had helped to support staff at audio-visual suppliers SFL Group, and Hazel Sawyers, who founded My Life Is My Business to help tackle workplace stigma around mental health issues, and highlighted the importance of mental health first aiders.

Johann Ilgenfritz, CEO of UK Health Radio, talked about how he had changed his lifestyle after suffering serious illness, and was now promoting health and wellbeing via a 24-hour radio station.

The topic of mental health has gained a lot of momentum within the music industry in the past years, with initiatives, institutions and individuals all contributing to remove stigmas surrounding the topic.

The Arts Wellbeing Collective in Australia is mentoring this newly formed UK group as it aims to emulate the success of the Australian initiative, championed by Arts Centre Melbourne CEO Claire Spencer.

The announcement of the UK NAWC quotes research by Ulster University, which found that the likelihood of a mental health problem within the arts sector is three times that of the general population.

According to the UK’s Mental Health Foundation, around 70 million days are lost in the UK each year due to mental health problems, while a YouGov survey found that 95 per cent of those surveyed who had taken time off for stress had given their boss a different reason for their absence.