Posted Jul 4, 2025
“People living in Ireland have access to creative and cultural activity as part of a holistic health journey throughout the life course, supporting better health and wellbeing outcomes and enriching the creative and artistic landscape.” Vision statement, Strategic Action Plan for Arts and Health (2025) Réalta is delighted to welcome the publication of Ireland’s first Strategic Action Plan for Arts and Health (2025) by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (Creative Ireland), the Department of Health (Healthy Ireland/Sláintecare), the HSE, and the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon. This Strategic Action Plan represents a significant step forward in recognising the vital role of arts and creativity in supporting public health and wellbeing. The Strategic Action Plan sets out the rationale for a joint policy approach, and outlines the steps involved in building an arts and health policy partnership in Ireland, beginning with the Memorandum of Understanding in December 2020 between the participating bodies, before setting out its clear and inclusive vision and six strategic objectives: Policy – To articulate a joint policy position on arts and health in Ireland and ensure co-ordinated input to international policy making. Evidence – To establish a research and evaluation framework for arts and health in Ireland to build the evidence base for sustainable project design and funding. Capacity – To provide training and support to equip creative and healthcare professionals to work together to embed creative and cultural activity in the health service in Ireland. Delivery – To prioritise suitable projects or pilot initiatives and design sustainable delivery mechanisms for their scaling. Governance – To design and implement governance and reporting arrangements to support a...
Posted Jul 2, 2025
We at Réalta, the national resource organisation for arts + health in Ireland, wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to Maureen Kennelly as she steps down from her role as Director of the Arts Council. Maureen’s decades of experience working at all levels in the arts sector, together with her passion, commitment and vision, make her a most inspiring, compassionate, thoughtful leader. She spearheaded so many positive developments during her tenure, which have had a beneficial impact on countless artists and arts organisations, and which will be her enduring legacy. Maureen has long been a tremendous supporter of the work of Waterford Healing Arts Trust, now Réalta, and we wish to extend our deepest appreciation for her encouragement, her energy and her unwavering support for our organisation, for arts + health, and for the wider arts sector. We wish Maureen every health, happiness and success. 02.07.2025 Photo credit: The Arts Council / Ruth Medjber...
Posted Jun 5, 2025
A rich seam of mature practice exists in Ireland connected to an expanding international movement promoting art as a health-positive activity. Ireland has leadership status in this area, but can it sustain it? What patterns emerge over time? What can this teach a wider audience? As part of Creative Brain Week 2025, over three days Réalta will lead a discussion themed Arts and Health: An Irish Timeline, which will explore creative work as transformation or transaction, apprenticeship, the cultural ecosystem and the ability of Ireland’s rich tradition of arts + health to collaborate meaningfully with its health and care services. The discussion will be facilitated by Claire Meaney, Director of Réalta and Emma Eager, Réalta Project Co-ordinator and Project Manager of artsandhealth.ie, with contributions from Justine Foster (Arts for Health Partnership Programme West Cork) and Mary Grehan (Children’s Health Ireland Arts in Health Programme), on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 June respectively. The backdrop to this discussion will be a timeline of arts + health development in Ireland, created by Justine Foster, which explores the development of the Arts for Health Partnership Programme West Cork, in the context of national and international advancements in arts + health. The timeline will be organic and will be added to following each day’s discussion. It is hoped that reviewing arts + health through the lens of this timeline will enhance understanding and inspire discussion on the future direction of this exciting field of practice. Arts and Health: An Irish Timeline is part of the Threads programme at Creative Brain Week 2025, which sees cluster groups exploring topics through cross-disciplinary and inter-agency dialogues....
Posted Apr 24, 2025
Réalta is pleased and excited to publish the full, packed programme for this year’s Arts + Health: Check Up Check In. Click this link: Arts and Health Check Up Check In 2025 Programme and we look forward to welcoming you to Tullamore on Wednesday 30 April. Tickets for the full day, including a Hearty, Not Arty lunch, cost €30. Book your place here Arts + Health: Check Up Check In is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE, and in 2025 is supported by Offaly County Council and Esker Arts....
Posted Apr 8, 2025
Réalta has published details for Arts + Health: Check Up Check In 2025 and is thrilled to reveal that Dr Tony Bates will be this year’s Keynote Speaker. Dr Bates is a clinical psychologist and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at University College Dublin. He is well known throughout Ireland for his warm and engaging writing and interviews on psychology-related topics. For Check Up Check In, his Keynote title will be ‘The Art of Making our Lives Work’. Arts + Health: Check Up Check In will take place on Wednesday 30 April in Esker Arts, Tullamore. Organised by Réalta, this ‘go to’ event for the arts and health sector features presentations by some of the most exciting and inspiring practitioners working in this field today. The fee for the full day, including lunch, is €30. Click here to book your place Arts + Health: Check Up Check In is open to arts practitioners, healthcare professionals, and anyone interested in learning more about this exciting area. Check Up Check In provides an opportunity for participants to come together to share their experiences, exchange ideas, and support and inspire each other in their practice through a range of themed presentations and workshops. Keynote Speaker Dr Tony Bates was Head of the Dept of Psychology for 30 years at St James’ Hospital Dublin. Following psychotherapy training at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Oxford, he established the MSc in Cognitive Psychotherapy at Trinity College Dublin. In 2006, he created Jigsaw, The National Centre for Youth Mental Health. He trained as a mindfulness teacher at the University of Wales, Bangor, in 2001...
