Thank you to everybody who attended and contributed to Making Change 2023. We will shortly be sharing photos, evaluations and findings from the event.
Please note that ticket sales have now ended.
If you are looking for guidance on planning your own creative health event, copies of our conference literature is now available on our resource page. Please feel free to use and adapt as necessary.
If you do use any of these templates, we would really appreciate you referencing The Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance.
Conference Information
Accessibility is important to us. Download our visual story here
We understand that access is a highly personal and ever evolving area of need, and that barriers to access come in many forms. Please click here to learn how we are working to make our conference accessible, including captioning, BSL and the creation of safe and quiet spaces.
Mental Health Support
We understand that some of the topics covered at the conference could be difficult or upsetting. We encourage you to feel supported to do whatever you need to keep yourself well. Please see a list of useful resources below, and seek out a member of CHWA staff if you need further assistance.
- Samaritans. To talk about anything that is upsetting you, you can contact Samaritans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can call 116 123 (free from any phone), email jo@samaritans.org or visit some branches in person. You can also call the Samaritans Welsh Language Line on 0808 164 0123 (7pm–11pm every day).
- SANEline. If you're experiencing a mental health problem or supporting someone else, you can call SANEline on 0300 304 7000 (4.30pm–10.30pm every day).
- National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK. Offers a supportive listening service to anyone with thoughts of suicide. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK on 0800 689 5652 (6pm to midnight every day).
- Shout. If you would prefer not to talk but want some mental health support, you could text SHOUT to 85258. Shout offers a confidential 24/7 text service providing support if you are in crisis and need immediate help.
- Switchboard. If you identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, you can call Switchboard on 0300 330 0630 (10am–10pm every day), email chris@switchboard.lgbt or use their webchat service. Phone operators all identify as LGBT+.
If you live in England, you can call a local NHS urgent mental health helpline for support during a mental health crisis. Anyone can call these helplines, at any time.
These helplines offer similar support to a crisis team. The NHS website has more information on urgent mental health helplines, including how to find your local helpline.
The Alliance has worked hard to curate a programme that reimagines preconceived conference ideas by building panels that reflect people at different stages, scales, and working with varied demographics and processes. We are encouraging a ‘come as you are’ approach, with plenty of opportunities for creative play, nourishment and replenishment through a variety of interactive talks, performances and workshops. We hope that this will spark meaningful conversation, allow for processing and reflection, and give equal opportunity to those working in the sector.
Thank you
We'd like to sincerely thank our conference working group, which has given so much time and thought to this event, and has included people working with Cloverleaf, Hoa Lotus, the LENS, the National Centre for Creative Health, Ideas Alliance, Creative Recovery, Unlimited, Happy Museum, Barnsley Civic, Barnsley Libraries, Barnsley Museums, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council Culture and Public Health teams, and artists Zoë Palmer, Jennifer Farmer and Lady Kitt.
Thank you, too, to our principal funders Arts Council England, and to Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, South Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority and the Greater London Authority for their generous support of bursaries for people to attend this conference.
