A new research study has revealed significant social benefits, and improvements to mental health, can be measured in those attending a community art group. The research has been led by Dr Helen Lloyd, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Plymouth, in collaboration with two researchers; Abbie Scott BSc, and Rachel Mullee BSc. The research project was co-designed by a committee which included art club participants, art club volunteers, and the Mindful Art Club directors Peggy Melmoth and Emma Sprawson.
The research was funded by the university’s Get Involved Awards, and the findings were presented at an event at the university on Friday 12th May 2023.
Watch now:
The University of Plymouth used a mix of methods to assess qualitative and quantitative data involving the service-user opinion. They concluded in May 2023:
Our creative activities provide a distraction from negative thoughts and social anxiety. Our art encourages ‘flow’- a relaxing empowering experience- and attending Mindful Art Club can boost confidence and self-esteem while reducing social isolation.
Participants made statistically significant improvements in their mood from attending our sessions. Attendance at Mindful Art club also improved participants’ level of social connect, facilitated emotional regulation strategies and supported positive mental wellbeing.
After presenting our findings we enjoyed drinks and nibbles, and meeting other community organisations who had partnered with academic researchers on different projects, funded by the Get Involved Awards.
Our Offer
We can bring Mindful Art Club into your organisation as a one-off wellbeing session, or a six week course. These can be delivered online or in person. To get proven results for your staff or service users contact us today.
Peggy Melmoth, Kerry Evans, Emma Sprawson, Dr Helen Lloyd, Abbie Scott.
The retreat takes place in the picturesque village of Plympton St Maurice, near Plymouth, in South Devon. Outdoor activities are held in public green spaces; lunch is served in the local Guildhall. Most of the event is outdoors but can be moved to our indoor venue in the case of rain.
Includes coffees, teas and lunch of crusty bread, homemade cakes and a selection of cheeses, houmous, olives and fruit.
Did you miss The Storytelling Collective launch gig on Good Friday? We’ll be doing another one in three months time, and in between we will be offering workshops and creative activities to boost mental health and reduce social isolation. Watch our Facebook page for more news, or sign up to our mailing list.
Mindful Art Club, WonderZoo, Omnium Radio and Marbles Lost and Found are working together to create an opening gig, creative workshops and a closing exhibition over three months in 2023. The collaboration is funded by Plymouth Octopus Project. These events will feature a research element, where participants will be asked to talk about what they need to help improve their lives within the changing social and political climate. An independent evaluator will collate the findings in a report, and this will be presented at the exhibition. This will be a pilot research project, hopefully leading to a longer collaboration.
Improving Wellbeing
This is a collaborative pilot project between four groups that aims to tackle social isolation and improve wellbeing. At the heart of the project is fun, laughter and putting a smile on people’s faces, within group settings that foster empathy, trust and acceptance. The project will take place over three months (April-June 2023) with research conducted with the participants that will feed into a report written by an independent evaluator. The ideas gathered from the research will inform a plan to create a two year collaboration between the four groups, with further funding sought from National Lottery or other larger funding bodies. This pilot project will be a testing ground for different ideas using existing expertise and community connections.
The four groups all currently work with diverse individuals, providing opportunities for creativity, skill and knowledge sharing, social interaction and mental health support. The organisations will offer their tried and tested workshop formats, but with the additional offer of letting the participants have a voice that will feed into the research aspect. Participants of the project will be able to express their views and offer ideas for how their current difficulties can be supported better within the community. This will hopefully lead on to create a longer program that is evidence-based and tailored to people’s present experiences, rather than using past models, which may not be suited to current issues.
Good Friday was a collaborative performance event – an opportunity for one representative of The Storytelling Collective to give a short talk about the project, its philosophy, aims and activities. This was followed by several artists who performed comedy, music and spoken word.
There will be three workshops run by each group during April to June 2023, with feedback forms for research. During the sessions, casual conversations will be had with participants that aim to bring out honest perspectives and potential ideas, with notes taken for keywords and phrases. There will be 12 workshops in total, at different locations in Plymouth including Omnium Radio HQ, Union Corner, Oasis Project and The Plot.
The three month project will culminate in an evening showcasing the work that was done during the workshops and the results of the research and evaluation report. It will be an opportunity for participants to get together and hear how their ideas and perspectives have been heard and will feed into a larger project. If this pilot project is successful, with the groups able to work alongside and support one another, there is the possibility of creating a new network within Plymouth that is geared towards tackling social isolation using creative practices.
Working Together
Our four different groups have known of each other as friends for several years, with some of us working together already on various projects. We felt that working together as a collective would allow each of us to gain further knowledge, experience and skills, which will make us more resilient as organisations, leading to greater long term sustainability and positive impact on our community.
Our groups have similar values and aims, as we all work towards tackling social isolation, supporting mental health, giving people a sense of fun and purpose, and providing opportunities to develop friendships. We felt that we’d be able to work together successfully as we all offer unique creative approaches and perspectives, such as performance, radio, visual art, and talks, which can enable mutual support and growth. We hope that this pilot project can lead to longer term collaborations.
A collaboration brought to you by Pillars of Wellness and Wellbeing and the Mindful Art Club, this wellness day will provide sessions to assist you on your journey to wellness. A retreat-style day for anyone wanting to try new practices to help them on their healing path.
Pillars of Wellness and Wellbeing are a local organisation offering practical advice on ways to improve wellbeing.
Lauren from PWW says, “There are many things we can do to improve our mental and physical health that sit outside of the main stream and we understand that these things can often be out of reach for many. Mental health issues can affect anyone, but there are so many things we can do to bring a sense of relief at difficult times. The activities throughout the day have been carefully selected to provide a nourishing and restful experience, with practitioners who are highly experienced in their fields. This event will include sessions in yoga, qigong, sound healing, breathwork, meditation and a talk about the importance of good nutrition. Come along, meet new people, try something new and enjoy a day of wellbeing-focused activities.”
This event by Pillars of Wellness & Wellbeing CIC and Mindful Art Club CIC is at Devonport Guildhall, Ker St, Devonport, Plymouth PL1 4EL
To book your place follow this link, scroll down to ‘Free Ticket +Contribution’ (write a price) and input your contribution as zero (unless you want to donate). Although the top line says free tickets are sold out, please be reassured this is not the case.
We are pleased to be offering a new weekly mindful art group that offers peer support for mental health and teaches participants how to use mindfulness and art as coping strategies.
The format of this group will be a check-in at the beginning where people can talk about how the cost of living is affecting them, 10 minutes of guided mindfulness and a simple art project that anyone can do. We will offer practical solutions to the problems that people are going through such as sign-posting to other mental health organisations, help with form filling, advice about financial help, stress management, healthy eating on a budget and sign-posting to food banks. It is the peer support that makes all the difference at Mindful Art Club.
This clever fundraising system donates funds to Mindful Art Club CIC every time you shop – but it doesn’t cost you a thing! Over 7,000 brands including John Lewis & Partners, Argos, Uswitch, eBay and M&S are ready to give a free donation every time you shop online.
Plus, once you’ve signed up and raised £5 in donations, easyfundraising will match it with a bonus £5 bonus donation.
New funding from Devon Mental Health Alliance will support Peggy and Emma to continue delivering a popular weekly Mindful Art Club group at Moments Cafe in Plymouth city centre, every Friday from 1pm to 3pm, for the next six months. This group is open to anyone who is looking for support for their mental health and/or suffering from social isolation. Read more:
Did you know you can boost mental health and wellbeing in your organisation by booking a one off mindful art session or a six week course for your employees or service users?
We recently hosted a lively art session for Plymouth Argyle Football Club Community Trust, where everyone enjoyed a lot of talking and laughter, while creating art inspired by The Jack Leslie Campaign. The campaign recently raised funds for a statue to honour the Argyle footballer denied an England cap in 1925, just because he was black. Pictures in a souvenir match day programme brought Jack’s story to life (programme available here), and then we drew zen doodles inside a football, and coloured in an image of Jack Leslie.
We used a visual mood scale to evaluate our impact, and 98% of the participants said they felt happier after the session.
David said, “I have enjoyed the meeting with the Mindful Art Club and they have shown a great deal of empathy in their conversations.”
Rose said, “I found this session enjoyable and relaxing . The colouring in reminded me of my years as a teaching assistant. It was well lead.”
We have previously delivered a mindful art session to some premiership match officials. Dr Liam Slack, Chartered Sport Psychologist at PGMOL said,
“Peggy and Emma at Mindful Art were really pleasant and made everyone on the mindfulness session feel comfortable. They delivered a session that was really easy to take part and was enjoyable for all. I believe mindfulness art has a positive impact in promoting good mental health.“
Contact us now to book a wellbeing session for your organisation.
We regularly collect feedback from our art club participants to check that we are making a difference in our community. We are also working with a research team at Plymouth University to measure the difference we make.
“Mindful art group is a safe place to come. You can offload and are not judged, you can enter feeling down and alone, and leave knowing you have the groups support and empathy” – Karen.
“On my first visit to the group, I felt it was very welcoming. I found the groups activities interesting and will be coming regularly to your meetings. I have a big problem with large groups of people. I would normally say nothing as I would feel stupid. But not in this case. Thanks.” – Carole.
“It’s great that we meet regularly and check in with how we are all feeling. I feel like we are all responsible for each other – a space where we can talk, release, cry, laugh and our emotions are held by each other. I feel like ‘It’s OK, these people are here for me’. Whether you are a sociable person with lots of friends or alone in the world, there’s a group of people every week ready to listen and support me. It’s a great balance of mindfulness and creativity, for everyone, no matter what your experience is – we’re not artists by any means – just people coming together to be creative and peaceful.” – Erica.
If you’d like to boost mental health in your treatment service, support service, workplace or residential home we offer groups on line, one-off sample sessions, and a six week wellbeing programme. We also offer an outdoor mindful art retreat as a staff away day.
While watching the FIFA World Cup recently you may have realised how stressful it is to be a football referee. That’s why we were happy to provide an online session for a group of premiership referees.
Peggy and Emma at Mindful Art were really pleasant and made everyone on the mindfulness session feel comfortable. They delivered a session that was really easy to take part and was enjoyable for all. I believe Mindfulness Art has a positive impact in promoting good Mental Health.
Dr Liam Slack, Chartered Sport Psychologist, PGMOL
