Can Art Save Us?

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Do enough of us think about our resiliency, our capacity to manage or co-exist with stressful events, now and in the future? Do we even think about cultivating our resilience for life’s catastrophes? Sculptor, Kate Viner has foregrounded resilience in her recent exhibition, Resilience in Clay, representing sev...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. It's not often we meet a living legend, or someone who achieves their life's vision when there have been unimaginable forces against them. Gregory Maqoma, in the world of dance and on the international stage, is one of the most important artists of his generation. He not only survived the oppression and instit...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Have you ever thought about the Art of History? Not the history of art but how history is painted to tell us about the past; to document historical events, people and movement, power and conflict, control and beliefs, to tell us how to understand our lives, identity and the world today. How history is painted...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Nicky Goulder, CEO of the charity Create, recently received an Amazing Women award celebrating her as an ‘Arts Innovator.’ The British magazine, Women and Home, sold worldwide, hosts these awards for women making a big difference in the world. And this is indeed a very celebratory year. Founded 20 years ago, C...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Mark Walmsley trained in drums and percussion and spent 15 years performing with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He’s also played in the pit of various West End shows in London and taught drumming to children online, around the world. But Mark also beats a different drum, as a self-confessed, ‘furio...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Basil Watson is a Jamaican sculptor now based in the USA, and over a 45 year career, he has achieved international recognition as one of the world's leading sculptors. He was awarded the highest order of distinction, Commander Class, by the government of Jamaica, and his distinction through service continues t...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Zita Holbourne is a multi award winning multidisciplinary artist, author, poet, curator and vocalist. She's an experienced trade union and community activist and her artwork responds to social and climate justice, human rights and equality. Zita was elected to the TUC National Race Relations Committee and the...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. John Simmit founded the Upfront Comedy Empire. He's a comedian, producer, actor and theatre performer enjoying current success in the musical Rush, a "joyous Jamaican journey" earning five star reviews and sellout shows. For 30 years, John has promoted black comedy in Britain, and alongside comedy tours, he ha...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Dr Michael McMillan is an artist, author, playwright and curator. His plays and performance pieces have been produced by the Royal Court Theatre, Channel 4, BBC Radio 4 Drama and across the UK. He’s a Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at the University of the Arts, London and an Associate Lecturer, teachi...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. In this special edition, short interview, I had the pleasure to talk again to Shirley May who featured in Season 3 which was dedicated to poetry and spoken word artists. Shirley May is an acclaimed poet, writer and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of literature. She is also CEO and Artistic Director of...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Shirley May is an acclaimed poet, writer and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of literature. She is also CEO and Artistic Director of Young Identity, Manchester's premier spoken word collective in the UK. In 2006, Shirley founded the Inner Voice, a voluntary Youth Arts Project that 16 dedicated years la...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Jim Grover, a social documentary photographer who deep dives respectfully into the hearts and minds of people in his local communities. Living in South Clapham London, he is rewarded with a rich tapestry of life. His work celebrates 75 years of Windrush stories and Caribbean culture, 25 years of the ordination...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Cameroonian clay addict, Djakou Kassi Nathalie, is a ceramic artist now based in Nigeria. With over 30 years of practice and numerous prestigious awards, this is statement art that understands architectural design, artistic innovation and creative craft. Natalie responds to discrimination, racism, solidarity,...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. What does a commended poet, dancer of the Indian, classical form Kathak, outstanding legal academic and occasional writer in the hope-punk story genre, have in common? One person it seems, Bhumika Billa. What stands out is Bhumika’s astonishing ability to communicate through dance, language and legal linguisti...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Can you imagine making an appointment to see Dr. Lovely or better still the Faerytale Doctor? Would you be open to the spiritual practice of shamanism through storytelling as a way of navigating your life or to find a compass for your soul? Could we all benefit from connecting to something sacred to help us fi...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. AJ O’Neil is an internationally recognised West End, TV and Film performer. He’s a dancer, choreographer and long-standing teacher of the famous Pineapple Dance Studios, home to some of the world’s most famous stars. His fitness classes have been listed in British Vogue, Cosmopolitan an...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Shirley May is an acclaimed poet, writer and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of literature. She is also CEO and Artistic Director of Young Identity, Manchester's premier spoken word collective in the UK. In 2006, Shirley founded the Inner Voice, a voluntary Youth Arts Project that 16 dedicated years la...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Princess Arinola Adegbite a.k.a. P. A. Bitez is a British Jamaican-born Nigerian poet, she’s a spoken word artist, a songwriter and filmmaker whose artistic expression is described as social activism and spiritual healing. At 16, she published her debut poetry collection 'Soft Tortures.' At 17, she won Slambas...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Manchester based poet Qudsia Akhtar is already recognised as an important new voice for her generation, her debut collection of poems, 'Khamoshi' (Silence), is out now, published by Verve Poetry Press. She is also highly commended in the Forward Book of Poetry, 2023, considered the indispensable annual guide t...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Adam Kammerling is a former, UK slam poet champion who has since become an inter-disciplinary artist combining his innovative poetry with theatre, dance and music. He embraces collaboration, risk and experimentation and his poetry creates movement both on and off the page. His debut poetry collection, Seder, i...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Cherry Smyth is an Irish writer and poet who lives in London. In 2022 Cherry was nominated as a Fellow for the Royal Society of Literature and she is Associate Professor in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Greenwich. Critically acclaimed, Cherry has had four poetry collections published and a...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Tom Delahunt, the hobo poet, is an award-winning academic and an advanced nurse practitioner with years of experience in intensive and emergency care. In 2019 he was awarded Most Innovative Teacher of the Year, by the prestigious Times Higher Education Awards, this was in recognition of his use of poetry to su...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Both BBC Words First Finalists, Billie Meredith is a poet and performer and Saf-S2E is a poet and rapper and they are active members of Young Identity. Recognised as some of the UK’s best emerging talent, they are involved in the Cities Untold project, a partnership between Young Identity, the Manchester Liter...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Dr Michael McMillan is an artist, author, playwright and curator. His plays and performance pieces have been produced by the Royal Court Theatre, Channel 4, BBC Radio 4 Drama and across the UK. He’s a Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at the University of the Arts, London and an Associate Lecturer, teachi...

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing. Daryl Beeton is a kind of acrobatic superhero. He flies on top of sway poles which includes 25 meters across London's Olympic Stadium. H’s trekked 228 miles across Nicaragua, filmed by the BBC, requiring armed soldiers due to the dangers of bandits and kidnappers. He also performs with the trapeze and could pr...