Biography

Chris Kelly is a double arts graduate from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee. Since 1996 Chris has been increasingly engaged in arts in healthcare work, both in the physical environment but more so the role of creative engagement through participatory arts in recovery and rehabilitation with Long Term Conditions.Chris helped establish Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust (THAT) in 2002 and secured funding for the ST/ART Project, a Tayside-wide Art and Stroke/ABI project that he has co-ordinated since 2004. Chris continues to work for THAT, with a wide range of responsibilities, and has recently secured Chief Scientists Office funding for significant research in Creative Engagement with inpatient stroke rehabilitation.

Themed Panel (Suggested)

Print Summerschools: A Unique Route to Health and Wellbeing through Printmaking
Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust and Dundee Contemporary Arts have collaborated on ‘Print Summerschools’ courses for adults with Long Term Health Conditions (LTC) developing an important model of Creative Engagement, allowing participants with a range of health conditions, to engage in the arts through the discipline of print.

We will review the evidence of the last 5 years and demonstrate that creative engagement through printmaking empowers, promotes social inclusion and makes a significant contribution to health and well being. We will illustrate the project with excerpts from the film; THAT’s Creative Printmaking Summerschools 2012.

From 2007–2011, 133 participants attended the Summerschool programmes working with experienced printmakers to learn skills and explore their creative potential. Baseline information was collected before their programme as were views of the experience after the programme. Participants comments and others observations provide additional valuable information.

Our results show that participants’ experience significant increase in their perceived capability, value the experience very highly and evidence both positive performance and positive achievement that reveal a range of likely psychosocial benefits.

This model of printmaking delivered in an open access print studio, has proven a very successful and popular cultural access point for Creative Engagement for people with LTC.