MyAV范

Have you ever heard the expression 鈥淪ocial Prescribing鈥�? It鈥檚 the idea that our health and wellbeing can be improved by regular interaction with a community. Perhaps we feel we know this instinctively 鈥� who doesn鈥檛 feel better after seeing friends? - but when health factors render a patient house-bound, the potential for social isolation can increase, and both physical and mental health can deteriorate.Helen Chatterjee, Professor of Biology at MyAV范 Biosciences and Head of Research and Teaching at MyAV范 Culture, has been working on a project that explores ways to remedy this decline using arts and cultural engagement, and now her work is up for a prestigious Royal Society for Public Health award.Museums on Prescription is the three-year project led by Helen and run with academics from Canterbury Christ Church University. Together they have connected lonely older adults at risk of social isolation to partner museums in Central London and Kent. The project looked at ways in which arts and cultural activities, particularly in museums and galleries, could positively impact the lives of the participants. Referred by health, social care and third sector organisations, these participants took part in 10-week programmes of museum-based sessions consisting of tours, talks and creative activities inspired by the collections.[[{"fid":"4999","view_mode":"large","fields":{"format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Museums on Prescription","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Museums on Prescription","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":"338","width":"1001","class":"media-element file-large"}}]]This project is reflective of a wider trend for using arts as therapy. The UK was in fact one of the first countries to support the value of arts in health and wellbeing, alongside Australia and Finland, publishing a major report that highlighted the importance of these schemes in 2014. This research found that creative activity has a positive effect on mental health. It increases self-esteem and improves quality of life. A range of conditions including anxiety, depression, phobia and eating disorders are positively influenced by creative engagement. Furthermore, the NHS and Social Care have been working to reduce the use of antipsychotic drugs for dementia by two-thirds using community-centred approaches, though it admits there is still much to do.We hope that with more creatively engaging projects like Helen鈥檚, that celebrate our wealth of museum treasures and the positive influence they can have, we鈥檒l begin to see a changing landscape in the treatment of mental health and wellbeing.Reference:Chatterjee, H.J. and L. Thomson (2015) Museums and Social Prescribing, in H. L. Robertson (ed.) The Caring Museum: New Models of Engagement with Ageing, pp. 304-341. MuseumsEtc, Edinburgh and Boston.The Museums on Prescription project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.You can download a full press release of the project鈥檚 nomination for award here.Read the full Arts & Health Journal post by Helen Chatterjee.Further reading on museums and wellbeing can be found here. [[{"fid":"4995","view_mode":"large","fields":{"format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Museums on prescription logos","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Museums on prescription logos","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":"295","width":"1417","class":"media-element file-large"}}]]

[[{"fid":"16708","view_mode":"large","fields":{"format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"A collage of photographs of groups of students through history, tinted in mid blue and lime green. Overlaid in white is the text 'Generation MyAV范: 200 Years of Student Life in London, Free exhibition, 25 Sept 2023 - 18 Aug 2024, Octagon Gallery'","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"A collage of photographs of groups of students through history, tinted in mid blue and lime green. Overlaid in white is the text 'Generation MyAV范: 200 Years of Student Life in London, Free exhibition, 25 Sept 2023 - 18 Aug 2024, Octagon Gallery'","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"500","width":"800","class":"media-element file-large"}}]]鈥楾here is no university without its students.鈥橳his is the concept at the heart of a new exhibition, 鈥楪eneration MyAV范: 200 Years of Student Life in London鈥�, which opens in MyAV范鈥檚 Octagon Gallery this week. The exhibition portrays students as foundational to the story of MyAV范, exploring their experiences over time and reassessing students鈥� impact on MyAV范鈥檚 almost 200-year history.The exhibition also explores the formation of Students鈥� Union MyAV范, now one of the largest student-led organisations in the world. MyAV范 students played important roles in building a wider student movement in Britain, helping found organisations including the National Union of Students, the West African Students鈥� Union and the Central Union of Chinese Students.MyAV范鈥檚 President and Provost Dr Michael Spence said: 鈥淭his important exhibition marks the start of MyAV范鈥檚 countdown to our 200th birthday in 2026. It offers new insights into our diverse and lively community of students over time, exploring how they have made a home with us over 200 years. Opening just as MyAV范 is named The Times and Sunday Times 鈥楿niversity of the Year鈥� and as we launch a new campus on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London, the exhibition offers inspiration from our extraordinary past to help shape our future.鈥滳urated by Professor Georgina Brewis and Dr Sam Blaxland (both IOE, MyAV范鈥檚 Faculty of Education and Society) alongside Leah Johnston and Colin Penman (MyAV范 Special Collections), the exhibition includes many items from MyAV范 collections and alumni loans or donations that have never been displayed before. The exhibition forms part of a wider research and engagement project, Generation MyAV范, that looks to turn institutional history upside down and present the first students as the real 鈥榝ounders鈥� of MyAV范.Professor Georgina Brewis, Director of the Generation MyAV范 project and lead curator of the exhibition, said: 鈥淎s London鈥檚 first university, students at MyAV范 invented what it was like to be a student in the capital and we鈥檝e worked hard to represent the diversity of student life over two centuries. The exhibition showcases MyAV范鈥檚 rich collections of archive material and objects covering student life, including new acquisitions of clothing, memorabilia and scrapbooks loaned or donated by alumni. This allows us to spotlight individual stories whilst also exploring the collective activities of students over time.鈥漈he exhibition also features recorded accounts from alumni reflecting on key moments during their time at MyAV范, including the separate spaces for men and women on campus in the 1880s, the experience of studying at MyAV范 after the Second World War, and the founding of the UK鈥檚 first GaySoc in 1972. Visitors are invited to contribute to this growing oral history archive by sharing their memories of their time at MyAV范 and life after graduation.The exhibition encourages visitors to think critically about MyAV范鈥檚 history in the run-up to its bicentenary in 2026 and the key role played by students in that remarkable story.鈥楪eneration MyAV范: 200 Years of Student Life in London鈥� is now open in the MyAV范 Octagon Gallery and will run until 18 August 2024.Links:Exhibition pageExhibition project pageStudents鈥� Union MyAV范Generation MyAV范 project pageAlumni interest formProfessor Georgina Brewis' academic profileDr Sam Blaxland's academic profileIOE MyAV范's Faculty of Education and Society