Save the Date: 7 December for Experience 2023, An Introduction to Arts, Health & the Older Person The date for Experience 2023: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person, has been announced by Age & Opportunity and Réalta, the National Body for Arts + Health in Ireland.  Experience 2023 will take place on Thursday 7 December at the Réalta Centre for Arts + Health, University Hospital Waterford.  This is the first time that Experience will take place in person, having been an online learning programme for the last two years.  Designed for arts practitioners interested in this area, over the course of the day, Experience 2023 will aim to outline the essential elements involved in working with older people in an arts and health context, and will feature presentations by some of the most experienced and inspiring practitioners working in this specialised field of practice.  Further details and booking information will follow in due course from www.ageandopportunity.ie from www.realta.ie or email arts@ageandopportunity.ie  Experience 2023: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE. Image Credit: From ‘If These Hands Could Sing’, a project with the residents and staff of Mooncoin Nursing Home, Co Kilkenny and musician Liam Merriman, as part of National Arts in Nursing Home Day 2023.  Photo by Vicky Comerford...

Music and Health Ireland, in association with Réalta, the National Body for Arts + Health in Ireland, is pleased to announce details of its forthcoming Introduction to Music in Healthcare and Community Settings training programme.  This five-day course is designed for recent graduates, early career musicians and/or professional musicians interested in exploring the idea of bringing music into healthcare and community spaces with a focus on older persons’ settings.  Participants will learn from highly experienced musicians who have trained in best-practice musical and pedagogical techniques specifically developed for quality outcomes in healthcare. The course is led by Gráinne Hope, Director of Music & Health Ireland, and Liam Merriman, healthcare musician and trainer with Music & Health Ireland and Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts, two of Ireland’s leading lights in best-practice musical and pedagogical techniques specifically developed for quality outcomes in healthcare in older persons’ settings. Music & Health Ireland manages and delivers the largest programme of training and CPD opportunities for early-career musicians and professional musicians interested in working in Healthcare and Community Settings across Ireland. The course takes place Monday 6 – Friday 10 November 2023 at the Réalta Centre for Arts + Health at University Hospital Waterford.  Places are limited to ensure a high quality experience for all participants.  Early Bird & Scholarship application deadline extended to Friday 22 September.  Click here for further information and application details This project is supported by the Arts Council. Photo credit: Dave...

Arts + Health: Check Up Check In 2023 will take place on Wednesday 25 October in Dublin.  This will be the first time since 2019 that this national gathering of the arts and health sector will be held in person, having taken place online since the onset of COVID.  This year’s event will have a special focus on mental health, and the day will feature presentations by some of the most innovative and creative practitioners working in arts and health today. Arts + Health: Check Up Check In is open to healthcare professionals, arts practitioners and anyone interested in learning more about this exciting field.  The ‘go to’ event for the arts and health sector, Check Up Check In is organised by Réalta, the National Body for Arts + Health in Ireland, which encompasses the national resource website artsandhealth.ie and Waterford Healing Arts, and is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE.  Further details and booking information will follow in due course on www.realta.ie Picture shows artists Caroline Schofield and Jill Bouchier presenting their case study on Open Gallery, an inclusive art viewing project, at Arts and Health: Check Up Check In 2019. Photo by Keith Currams...

Waterford Healing Arts has issued an Open Call to artists of all art forms, including visual artists, musicians, writers and dance artists, to apply to join its Artist Panel.  Artists will be engaged to deliver key Waterford Healing Arts programmes at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) and other healthcare settings in Waterford.  Further information, including an application form, are available from Waterford Healing Arts wha@hse.ie 051 842664 or by clicking here  (See also below for Word and PDF formats) The deadline for receipt of applications is Friday 28 July at 12 noon.  Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview / audition, as appropriate. Information & Application Form – PDF format Information & Application form- Word format Waterford Healing Arts (WHA) is Ireland’s leading arts and health programme, providing opportunities for patients, family members and staff to engage in high quality arts experiences at UHW and other healthcare settings.  The role of the artist is to deliver inspiring and uplifting arts experiences which are responsive to the needs of patients/ health service users, family members and healthcare staff. Artists selected for the Waterford Healing Arts Artist Panel will be engaged on a freelance basis for a period of two years to deliver key programmes, including, but not limited to: – Arts Programme in Renal Dialysis (artists, musicians, writers, dance artists) – Healing Sounds live music programme (musicians) – Iontas Arts and Mental Health Programme (artists, musicians, writers, dance artists) – Open Gallery inclusive art viewing programme (visual artists) Artists, musicians, writers and dance artists interested in applying should have: – previous experience in delivering participatory/ collaborative arts experiences – excellent interpersonal...

A short film telling the story of Réalta, from its origins in Waterford Healing Arts in 1993 to the present day, was screened at our official launch on 3 March 2023.  Click here to view the film and scroll down to read the story. The Story of Réalta Dr Abdul Bulbulia first suggested the idea of introducing art into Waterford Regional Hospital in the early 1990s. At the time, the role of the arts in the hospital environment was a completely new concept in Ireland, but was already being explored in the UK. With the support of hospital management, Dr Bulbulia, along with Mary Baxter, set up a committee to oversee the commission of the first artwork in the hospital: Quintess-ometry, by Remco de Fouw. This was the first public art commission in an acute hospital in Ireland.  The committee went on to establish Waterford Healing Arts Trust in 1993. Over the following decades, Waterford Healing Arts Trust deepened its roots and expanded its reach, developing the hospital art collection into over 600 artworks today, and growing the participatory programme to include art making, music, creative writing and storytelling.  Through these programmes, with the support of many funders, the team of artists, musicians and staff seek to ‘make now better’: to lift people’s spirits, promote connection, and remind people that beauty still exists, even in difficult times. Meanwhile, from its dedicated Centre for Arts + Health on the campus of what is now University Hospital Waterford, Waterford Healing Arts Trust also began to expand its programme into the national sphere.  This took a significant step forward in 2011, when...

The establishment of Réalta, the National Body for Arts + Health in Ireland, puts Ireland at the forefront of the global arts and health movement, according to Christopher Bailey, Arts and Health Lead at the World Health Organisation.  Mr Bailey was speaking at the official launch by Waterford Healing Arts Trust of Réalta on Friday 3 March 2023 in Waterford.  Other speakers included Prof. Kevin Rafter, Chairperson of the Arts Council, Grace O’Sullivan, MEP and Patron of Waterford Healing Arts, Catherine Drea, Chairperson, Réalta and Claire Meaney, Director of Réalta. The launch was attended by a wide range of stakeholders involved and interested in arts and health in Ireland, including healthcare professionals, artists, participants, arts and health practitioners, funders and policy makers.  Chairperson of Réalta Catherine Drea welcomed guests and thanked all stakeholders, past and present, saying “It takes a village” to create an organisation such as Réalta.  Guests were then shown a video illustrating the development of Réalta, from the original establishment of Waterford Healing Arts Trust in 1993, to the beginning of the organisation’s national programme 15 years ago, the setting up of the resource website artsandhealth.ie in 2011 and the development and launch of Réalta in 2023.  Claire Meaney, Director of Réalta, then outlined Waterford Healing Arts Trust’s work with business planning consultant Ahmad Abu-el-ata in developing a business strategy for Réalta, and with branding agency Totem – based in Dungarvan, County Waterford – to develop the Réalta brand as well as the new logo for Waterford Healing Arts (re-branded from Waterford Healing Arts Trust). Officially launching Réalta, Mr Christopher Bailey, Arts and Health Lead with...