Admission Into Creative Health

Creative Health is a rapidly growing sector, as benefits for both patients and health providers become more clear. There is a growing appetite among artists for developing their socially-engaged work into this sector, and so this session will be an introduction to Creative Health work.

First, Rosie O’Donovan, Arts Programme Manager for Cambridge University Hospitals Arts, will explore the range of work that they have brought into hospital spaces, demonstrating the impact it has had.

Then we’ll hear from regional artist Charlotte Jolly, who has recently worked at Addenbrookes with the CUH Arts team. Her research and development project, Roly Poly, explored improvised music and clowning theatre for early years. Charlotte will be discussing how she adapted her work into the hospital space, and the standout findings from her research.

Artist Bio

Charlotte Jolly is a composer, clarinettist and socially-engaged artist based in Suffolk. Her solo music for clarinet is deeply rooted in nature using virtuosic semi-improvised minimalist cycles and patterns to evoke spacious landscapes.  

Her community practice is centred around co-creation and low demand approaches to music making. She is co-director of Roly Poly Play CIC, a movement/music duo who create relaxing ambient play spaces and performances for families with under 4s.

She freelances with organisations including Magic Acorns, Britten Pears Arts, Britten Sinfonia and Sinfonia Smith Square delivering projects for families, inside HMP prisons and primary schools across the UK. She is also the Early Years Lead for Britten Pears Arts.  

CUH Arts  

CUH Arts is Cambridge University Hospitals’ creative health programme. They work to inspire creativity, promote wellbeing and humanise healthcare by providing excellent creative and cultural opportunities for patients, staff, visitors and the wider community. Their diverse, person-centred, multi-disciplinary programme of live, participatory and visual arts is delivered by a specialist team of arts professionals, and embedded within hospital life through close collaboration with staff.  

Creative Health work in hospitals requires artists to be flexible and respond to the needs and experiences of patients and health environments. CUH Arts want to bring cultural experiences of the highest quality to their hospital community and are always looking to work with ambitious artists.

Artist Network

Our Artist Network is for artists and practitioners committed to creative education and socially engaged practice across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

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