Well Wishes for the arts in healthcare: voices from Finland

Have a look at this lot! All of these people took the time to come up with a wish for the field of arts in health. They were collected on the Finnish half of my Fellowship as a visual way to share some of the findings. It’s all here!

With thanks and gratitude to everyone who shared their wish, and all those who supported me and shared their experiences, their views, or their work.

My report, Art Thou Well? Towards Creative Devolution of Mental Health in Greater Manchester, is now available, and I am making use of the findings in my new role as manager of the Arts, Culture and Mental Health Programme with GM iTHRIVE. GM iTHRIVE is Greater Manchester’s team behind the national transformation of children’s servcies.

A north west LINK meeting of the is in the making; I look forward to finding out more about others’ work in the context of Greater Manchester’s Devolution.

Join the international Arts Health Early Career Research Network here: http://www.artshealthecrn.com

The Well Wishes Collection, text for each below:

1. “Art as part of everyday healthcare”
   Kimmo Suortamo, Planning Officer at TAIKE Central in Jyväskylä
2. “Use the arts and culture to take mental health promotion into communities an new audiences”
   Johannes Parkkonen, Finnish Association of Mental Health
3. “Art is fun”
   Immo Suonketo, Neo-Oma Polku, Tampere, for young people with learning disabilities
4. “Art can be language between different kinds of people”
   Sent from organisation Neo-Oma Polku (My Path), Tampere
5. “Let’s be children all the time”
   Participant, PiiPoo Cultural centre and community arts, Tampere
6. “Art is a journey of imagination”
   Noora Hakala, Oma Polku (My Path), Tampere
7. “More genuine encounters”
   Participant, PiiPoo Cultural centre and community arts, Tampere
8. “Art is life, life is art”
   Jaana Ylanen, Co-ordinator, City of Tampere
9. “I wish for future of mental health, creativity, freedom and meditative perspective for being”
   ‘Fairy of Lapinlahti,’ in a chance creative encounter
10. “Art could have also other meaning than instrumental value in the field of arts and health”
    Professor Jaana Irkkila-Hiill, Visual Arts, University of Lapland
11. “Street art is also art”
    Sami Hukka, Oma Polku (My Path), Tampere
12. “No problem” (meaning, do not share the diagnosis)
    Jaap Klevering, Sound and Performance artist & Artist in Residence, Kiitila, Lapland
13. “Try not to be so fundamentally serious”
    Participant, PiiPoo Cultural centre and community arts, Tampere
14. “Tolerance”
    Pauliina Lapio, Arts Promotion Manager, Taike Central, Jyvaskyla
15. “Art heals”
    Tiia Viiltola, Neo-Oma Polku (My Path), Tampere
16. “Art 4 All”
    Petri, artist, Oma Polku
17. “Art brings people together”
    Niina Karkkainen, Neo-Oma Polku (My Path), Tampere
18. “Art means courage and courage means that you dare to live”
    Piia, Practice Nurse at KontiKoti residential home (Gone to Home)
19. “Art should be accessible in everyday”
    Arja-Riika Kataja, Manager at KontiKoti residential home (Gone to Home)
20. “Art removed stress”
    Hanelle Ala-Keskinen, Oma Polku, Tampere
21. “Art is a way to express yourself wildly”
    Marika Rintaniemi, Oma Polku, Tampere
22. “Art can open our hearts to be human”
    Pia Houni, Senior Researcher at Arts Equal
23. “Art can be language between different kinds of people”
    Samma Heuvonen, Oma Polku, Tampere
24. “I wish that everybody would have chance to participate”
    Sara Norberg, Korjaamo Culture Factory, Helsinki
25. “That it would be widely acknowledged that culture is integral part of being human”
    Jenni Räsänen, cultural planning officer, Helsinki