Perspectives
This section presents opinion on aspects of arts and health practice from a range of perspectives including health service users, artists, healthcare professionals and researchers.
The Weapons of Life: A case for arts participation as a creative response to mental health problems
In an era of austerity and scarce resources, a participatory arts programme as an integral part of the mental health services would appear to be an unaffordable luxury.
1 September, 2013
A Marriage of Apparent Opposites: The Arts in Medical Education
Medicine has always vacillated between the two separate lovers, art and science.
1 June, 2013
The place of loss in arts and health
The theme of loss surfaces through art again and again, even when it is not named as such.
1 March, 2013
Blood and Ink
Ben Murnane is a writer who lives in Wicklow and suffers from a rare genetic disorder, Fanconi anaemia. He describes how creativity helped him cope with his disease, and discusses a new film project involving teenagers with chronic illnesses.
1 December, 2012
It’s not you, it’s me
Kildare Arts Officer, Lucina Russell, argues for the place of arts and health practice as an integral part of a local authority arts programme, and describes how her own recent experience of healthcare has deepened her appreciation for this field of work.
1 September, 2012
Where does arts and health research belong in academic terms?
This podcast features extracts from a round table discussion by a group of postgraduate researchers around the academic positioning of arts and health research. It was hosted by the Waterford Healing Arts Trust in the School of Nursing Trinity College in 2011 and chaired by Catherine McCabe PhD.
1 June, 2012
Shall we discuss this outside? A look at artistic and medical responses to ethical quandaries
Artist and General Practitioner, Dr Ciara MacMahon, discusses how the fields of art and medicine differ in their responses to ethical issues and cites two contemporary artworks that raise challenging ethical questions of relevance to medics.
1 March, 2012
Can good arts and health practice be taught?
Hilary Moss argues for the need for accredited and on-the-job training for artists working in healthcare settings to ensure best arts and heath practice and place the work of artists in this field on an equal footing with health professionals.
1 December, 2011
The artist’s point of view
Between them, Helene Hugel and Marie Brett have long and varied experience of working as artists in a range of healthcare settings. Here they consider arts and health as an arts practice and reflect upon some of the challenges of sustaining artistic vision and integrity across different projects while building meaningful relationships with partners and participants.
8 September, 2011
A social model for health
Aidan Warner, Principal Community Worker with the HSE South (Cork), argues that art and health should consider a social model of health as the context for its practice in Ireland.
6 September, 2011
Crossword – a patient’s reflection on the WHAT arts programme in the WRH Dialysis Unit
Johanna Tanner is a Dialysis patient in Waterford Regional Hospital who has been participating in the Waterford Healing Arts Trust’s arts programme since 2008. Here she talks about her experience.
19 August, 2011
Why arts and health should not be confused with arts and disability?
I suspect the reason arts and health and arts and disability are seen as being one and the same thing may be due to some peoples’ perceptions around disability primarily being a health issue.
15 May, 2011
