‘Transformative potential’: more arts funding on the horizon...
Author
The Art Newspaper
Date
23 January 2025
in Scotland following success of culture and health festival
Last year’s Scotland-wide festival linking arts, culture and healthcare has shown how the arts might help to “reimagine our national model of health and social care” according to the Scottish government’s chief medical officer.
The glowing verdict by Gregor Smith coincided with a report published this week at the Scottish parliament outlining the impact of the Healing Arts Scotland (HAS) festival held last August. It was the first of its kind to cover an entire nation, following a series of similar city-only festivals.
The week-long event in August 2024, produced by Scottish Ballet and the Jameel Arts & Health Lab in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, saw 376 separate activities take place across Scotland—from the bustling Central Belt to the windswept islands of Shetland and Orkney. They comprised workshops, presentations, panel discussions, training sessions and performances. One event, held in the foyer at Orkney’s Balfour Hospital, involved NHS staff and dancers living with multiple sclerosis taking part in a spontaneous dance flash mob.