The Pathways to Wellbeing Programme promotes positive mental health and wellbeing through creative engagement with museums. Since its start in 2016 it has supported over 200 local people living with mental health issues, social isolation and homelessness.
The programme has recently been awarded funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and from a new local partner, the St John’s Foundation, to continue and extend its ground-breaking work for a further three years (2019-2022).
Pathways to Wellbeing sees local museums, the local Mental Health Trust, Creativity Works and support organisations working in partnership across the city, to offer safe and supportive museum-based creative sessions where people can come together to enjoy arts activities, develop new skills and engage with their local heritage sites.
The programme consists of four different strands that participants can join depending on their needs:
- The Gardener’s Lodge Art Group
- FreshArt@
- IMAGE Peer Led Museums Group
- Discover Museums: Pathways to Volunteering
Please click here for information about current Pathways to Wellbeing groups.
Please click here to read an independent evaluation of Pathways to Wellbeing (1) 2016 to 2019.
Pathways to Wellbeing partners are:
The Holburne Museum
American Museum & Gardens
The Andrew Brownsword Gallery, The Edge, University of Bath
Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health NHS Partnership Trust
Creativity Works