Collaboratory Researcher Profiles
Project Title: Mapping Creative Health Assets in Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland: Mobilising arts, culture and creativity to tackle health inequalities
What were you doing (e.g. type of work/study) before your PhD/Placement?
I am Vice-Chair of Charnwood Arts, a local community arts organisation and currently also work on a freelance basis in marketing in the retail display industry. I grew up in Leicestershire, I went to university here, at De Montfort University, and I now live near Loughborough where I am bringing up my children. It naturally has a very special place in my heart.
What are you researching?
I am researching the creative health assets across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Creative health involves using arts, culture and creative activities to support physical and mental wellbeing within healthcare and community settings. This can include hospital bedside art programmes, as well as community-based activities such as art classes, choirs and gardening groups.
What motivated you to apply for this specific Placement project?
Through my role as Vice-Chair of Charnwood Arts, I have been involved in a range of community art sessions and have seen first-hand the impact they can have across different parts of the community. From tackling social isolation to helping people learn new skills, arts and creativity can play an important role in supporting wellbeing. This project has given me the opportunity to explore that impact further.
Why do you think this research is important?
A Creative Health Network was established in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland in 2024 to connect people working in, and interested in, creative health across the area. The next stage of its development is to bring together the currently fragmented creative health activity into a visual map, which is the focus of this research.
What difference do you hope to make in Leicester/Loughborough through this research?
The research will provide the LLR Creative Health Network with a report on the current state of creative health across the area, while also identifying priorities for future development.
What do you hope to gain from undertaking this research? (personally and/or professionally)
Being able to immerse myself in creative health has been incredibly valuable. I have enjoyed learning about both the policy side and how creative health works in practice on the ground. Meeting the people involved has also been a real highlight, as everyone has been so welcoming and passionate about the work they do. In five years’ time, I hope to be working more closely within the fields of creativity and creative health, helping to raise awareness of the positive impact the arts can have on wellbeing. I would like to play a role in bringing these benefits to more people across the wider community and supporting greater access to creative opportunities.