Training programmes

Réalta hosts Continuing Professional Development talks and workshops for artists and healthcare professionals involved in arts and health practice.

Arts & Health: Check Up Check In

This leading national arts and health event takes place every year in April and features presentations by some of the most innovative and creative practitioners working in arts and health today. Open to healthcare professionals, arts practitioners and anyone interested in learning more about this exciting field, Check Up Check In promotes solidarity among arts and health practitioners and provides opportunities for participants to share their experiences, exchange ideas and support and inspire each other in their practice. Check Up Check In is organised by Réalta with local partners, and is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE.

Checking In

With the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the annual Arts & Health Check Up Check In inspired a twice-yearly online ‘Checking In’ event, a virtual gathering of the arts and health community in Ireland. This event showcases leading examples of some of the new ways of working devised by arts and health practitioners, across artforms, since the introduction of Covid 19-related restrictions, and is open to healthcare professionals, arts practitioners and anyone interested in learning more about the exciting field of arts and health.

An Introduction to Arts and Health

Every year, Réalta hosts a one-day introductory workshop to arts and health for anyone who wants to learn more about this field of work. The workshop introduces participants to some of the nuts and bolts of arts and health work, presents best practice principles via a range of examples of work and opens up a discussion on some of the complexities relating to this field. Participants are invited to devise projects that respond to arts and health briefs.

Experience: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person

Experience: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person is an online learning programme delivered by Age & Opportunity, Réalta and Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre. This programme aims to outline the essential elements involved in working with older people in an arts and health context, and features presentations by some of the most experienced and inspiring practitioners working in this specialised field of practice.

Experience was devised in response to the need for more training and practical orientation for arts practitioners who already have experience of participatory work in a health context, and who are interested in developing their practice to include working with older people. In a programme which aims to be inspiring and pragmatic, participants gain an overview of approaches and ways of thinking in this rewarding area of work, practical information and advice for different art forms and disciplines, valuable insight from recent case studies, and opportunities to share ideas and build contacts with their peers.

Experience: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE.