Posted Feb 4, 2025
Arts + Health: Check Up Check In 2025 will take place on Wednesday 30 April in Esker Arts, Tullamore. UPDATE: Booking is now open! Click here for full details and to book your place The ‘go to’ event for the arts and health (A+H) sector, Check Up Check In is organised by Réalta, and features presentations by some of the most exciting and inspiring 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. This year, Réalta is seeking submissions from arts and health practitioners to deliver: A Case Study presentation: a deep dive into an arts and health project and/ or What’s my practice? One of a series of break-out workshops examining methodologies employed in collaborative/ participatory arts + health practice in Ireland. All artforms welcome. To apply, complete this online application form by 1pm on Friday 7 March 2025. Réalta is the national resource organisation dedicated to strengthening and advancing Arts + Health in Ireland. Réalta encompasses artsandhealth.ie, an independent information hub and the Waterford Healing Arts programme. Arts + Health: Check Up Check In is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE and supported by Offaly County Council Arts Office. Further details about Arts + Health: Check Up Check In and booking information will follow in due course on www.realta.ie. Image credit: DGM...
Posted Jan 30, 2025
Réalta was thrilled to be in Belfast recently for the launch of the PAINT Policy Brief – Recommendations for Arts in Renal Care. For two years, Réalta has been a partner on the PAINT Project, a research project which involved the global mapping of arts interventions in renal care. Led by the Renal Arts Group at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), other partners included the World Health Organisation (WHO), The Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida and Consultant Nephrologist Dr Mayleen Laico from Chong Hua Hospital, Philippines. The PAINT Policy Brief recommends growing the evidence base to demonstrate the value of arts activities during renal treatment; identifying arts champions within renal settings; mapping existing provision and developing collaborations across the world. A huge thank you to our partners on this project and especially the team at QUB, Prof Helen Noble, Dr Trisha Forbes and Anna Wilson. We look forward to seeing the impact of these recommendations as we work towards embedding arts in healthcare. The full research paper A Multi-Method International Mapping Exercise of Arts Interventions in Renal Units: The PAINT Project was published recently in the Nephron Journal. Further information about the research project, and the PAINT Policy Brief – Recommendations for Arts in Renal Care can be read here: https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/renal-arts-group/Research/PAINTProject/ Photo: Pictured at the launch of the PAINT Policy Brief at Queens University Belfast (QUB) were (l-r) Prof Helen Noble, QUB; William Johnston, poet & renal dialysis patient; Claire Meaney, Director of Réalta; Jim McCaughan, Chair of the Northern Ireland Kidney Research Fund; Dr Trisha Forbes, Research Fellow at QUB; Stephen Greer, Renal Arts...
Posted Oct 23, 2024
Réalta is excited to announce our upcoming virtual event, Checking In 2024. This online gathering of the arts and health community in Ireland, will take place on Tuesday 12 November from 11am – 1pm. Supported by the Arts Council and the HSE, Checking In is designed to showcase examples of some of the most creative and innovative work devised by leading arts and health practitioners in the post-pandemic era. Open to healthcare professionals, arts practitioners and anyone interested in learning more about the exciting field of arts and health, Checking In is free but advance registration is essential. Further details here EVENT OUTLINE 11am-12pm Part 1: Musical Warm-up with Sandra Collins, Healing Sounds musician with Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts, followed by leading examples of current arts + health practice, including: – Dandelion Clocks: Public Art at Children’s Health Ireland, with Mary Grehan, Public Art Curator. – Hearth: Visual artist and musician Breda Mayock presents a project bringing art into the homes of isolated older adults in County Mayo – The Power of Drama: Theatre and film maker Gillian Grattan shares her practice on the Iontas Arts + Mental Health Programme in Waterford – What’s going on? Alex Cothren and Tully Barnett from Flinder’s University, South Australia spotlight the latest arts + health projects from around the world 12pm-1pm Part 2: – Following a short break, all attendees who wish to do so will have the opportunity to Meet the Presenters to continue the conversation with a speaker of their choice, and to network with their peers, in virtual break-out rooms. Checking In 2024 will conclude at 1pm. Checking In 2024...
Posted Oct 18, 2024
Réalta was delighted to be one of 22 international Arts + Health organisations featured in a new Australian study. This research explores what drives momentum in arts and health globally and how organisations contribute to this progress. Key findings include: A strong evidence base for arts and health, though translating this evidence into action remains a challenge. The importance of diversifying the workforce in Arts + Health. The need to connect the various strands of arts and health work worldwide. The study gathers insights from a diverse range of organisations, including research groups, national networks, and nonprofits from regions such as Australia, Nigeria, Finland, the UK, and Japan. It explores their origins, key successes, challenges faced, and how different countries are advancing the field of arts and health. One highlight from the study is Réalta’s annual flagship event, ‘Check Up Check In’, which plays a crucial role in fostering national connections within the arts and health sector. Claire Meaney, Director of Réalta, emphasised the value of these gatherings: “There’s simply no substitute for the human connection involved in physically coming together—to share, exchange, inspire, and reconnect with our peers, colleagues, and friends.” The study noted that such events fill a critical gap in many regions, underscoring their importance in advancing the sector. Speaking about Réalta’s involvement in the report, Claire Meaney added, “Réalta is honoured to be part of this international dialogue and remains committed to advancing the arts and health sector in Ireland and beyond. There is fantastic work being achieved both at home and abroad, and we continue to advocate for and support the growth of arts...
Posted Oct 14, 2024
Speakers announced for Experience 2024: An Introduction to Arts, Health & the Older Person – Keynote Speaker Dr Trudy Meehan The speakers for Experience 2024: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person have been announced, with a reminder that the deadline for applications is Thursday 31 October. This one-day learning programme for artists and arts practitioners of all disciplines takes place on Thursday 5 December at Limerick City Gallery of Art. The exciting line-up of speakers includes Dr Trudy Meehan, Clinical Psychologist, with a specialty in the Psychiatry of Later Life; dancer and choreographer Mary Nunan; composer and musician Justin Grounds; dementia specialist Sarah Cairns; artists Caroline Schofield, Marie Brett and Joanna Hopkins; dance artist Katy Hewison; Dr Tara Byrne and Brian Dooney of Age & Opportunity, and Claire Meaney of Réalta. Over the course of the day, Experience 2024 will aim to outline the essential elements involved in working with older people in an arts and health context. Experience 2024 is presented by Age & Opportunity, the national organisation working to enable the best quality of life for us all as we age, and Réalta, the national resource organisation dedicated to developing arts + health in Ireland. Places are limited to 20 and cost €30.00 each, including a hot lunch. The application deadline is Thursday 31 October. Experience 2024 is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE, with support from Limerick City and County Council Arts Office and Limerick City Gallery of Art. This is the fourth year of Experience, which was devised in 2021 in response to the need for more training and practical orientation for...
