What is the role of the arts in healthcare? Beyond paintings on walls
Join us for the second edition of our inspiring and educational event series, Newcastle Hospitals Charity Presents, focusing on Arts in Healthcare. This discussion will go beyond paintings on the walls discuss the benefits creative approaches have on the health and wellbeing of both patients and staff of Newcastle Hospitals and the wider community.
Creative health has proven to improve clinical health outcomes, reduce anxiety and reduce hospital stays. Did you know:
- Singing for breathing programmes ease symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and long-covid
- Music-making can slow cognitive decline and improve wellbeing for people living with dementia
- Dance and movement can prevent falls and support people to recover from stroke and brain injury
Hear our speakers delve into this holistic and person-centred approach in more detail, sharing first hand stories of its truly transformational impact.
Overview of the event
This event will feature expert speakers discussing the benefits of the impact of arts in healthcare for patients, staff and the wider community.
Event details
Date: Wednesday 16th October 2024
Time: 5:30pm – 7pm (5:30pm – 6pm for drinks and canapés; 6pm – 7pm for the discussion)
Venue: Education Centre, Freeman Hospital
Free to attend, and free parking for event attendees
Panel speakers
Alice Wiseman – Director of Public Health in Gateshead and Newcastle
Dr Balsam Ahmad – Consultant in Public Health at Newcastle Hospitals and Honorary Lecturer at the Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University
Vikas Kumar MBE – Founder and Director of GemArts
Chair: Katie Newell – Newcastle Hospitals Charity Arts Programme Manager
Agenda for the evening
| 17:30 – 18:00 | Canapés and refreshments |
| 18:00 – 18:05 | Welcome and introductions |
| 18:05 – 18:25 | Speaker presentations |
| 18:25 – 18:55 | Discussion and audience Q&A |
| 18:55 – 19:00 | Closing remarks |
Biographies
Alice Wiseman, Director of Public Health for Gateshead and Newcastle, BA Hons, PG Cert, MPH, FFPH
Alice Wiseman has been Director of Public Health in Gateshead and Newcastle since April 2024. Prior to this she was the DPH in Gateshead and has been registered with the UK Public Health Register since December 2009.
Before becoming a DPH Alice worked in a broad range of senior public health roles across Tyne and Wear. Alice’s first degree was in Social Policy at Newcastle University, followed by a P.G.C.E, before training in public health.
Alice is passionate about improving health and well-being with a particular focus on tackling the unfair inequalities faced by some communities. Alice believes that effective action to address these inequalities requires dedicated effort across the determinants of health, as set out in the first Marmot Review ‘Fair Society, Healthy Lives’ (2010).
Alice is driven by the injustice that two babies, born on the same day and the same hospital, can experience such different life chances, due entirely to the circumstances into which they are born. Alice’s approach is firmly rooted in the belief that people, in their own communities, must be central to solving the issues of inequality; firstly, through sharing lived experience and secondly, through identifying innovative and creative ways to improve outcomes for their community.
Alice is also involved in the production of research evidence and in 2022 Alice led a collaboration between Gateshead Council and Newcastle University which secured a five-year NIHR contract with the Health Determinants Research Collaborative. Research priorities have focussed on opportunities to gain a better understanding of the lived experience, and impact of, Government policy on people in some of the most disadvantaged communities.
Using research to give a voice to people who are least likely to be heard, and often easiest to ignore, is central to her work in tackling inequalities at a local level. Alice is a Vice President for ADPH and the policy lead for addictions. In this role Alice, works closely with national colleagues and has given evidence to several All-Party Parliamentary Groups and a Parliamentary Committee.
Dr Balsam Ahmad, PhD, MPH, FFPH
Balsam is a Consultant in Public Health at Newcastle Hospitals and Honorary Lecturer at the Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University. In her role in the Trust, she leads on Population Health Management, Prevention, addressing health inequalities and Public Health speciality training. She has a regional role as co-lead for Public Health at the National Institute for Health and Care Research Local Clinical Research Network for North East North Cumbria.
Balsam has extensive experience leading successful collaborations at the interface of research and practice at global, national, regional and local levels. Balsam’s passion is in using arts and science to embed equity, prevention and early intervention in services as well as research into practice to improve patient outcomes.
She published widely on various topics and more recently shared her lived experience being a mother and carer of a young person experiencing a life changing illness and having to spend considerable time in hospital. Here on the other side of the fence did Balsam re-discover the huge potential for arts in healthcare, aligning to public health, giving a voice to patients and carers and improving quality of life, wellbeing and population health outcomes.
Vikas Kumar MBE
Vikas Kumar is Founder and Director of GemArts, and since 2000 he has been leading this visionary arts organisation. Vikas’ passion for creativity, diversity equality and inclusion has built GemArts into an internationally recognised arts organisation.
Vikas’ expertise in the South Asian and Diversity Arts sector, from a national and international perspective, has enabled him to support and develop an excellent network of artists and creative producers worldwide. Working on a strategic level and in collaboration with the voluntary, public and private sector, Vikas has made a significant contribution in increasing arts engagement amongst under represented communities particularly those from a Black Asian and Minority Ethnic and wider backgrounds across the North East.
Through GemArts award winning, ambitious and inspiring artistic programme, including performances, festivals, commissions and workshops, collaborating with flagship venues, community spaces and regional, national and international partners, Vikas has been instrumental in supporting artists at every stage of their career, ensuring that talent and artistic excellence is diverse, thriving and celebrated.
Vikas was awarded an MBE in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to Arts and Culture. In 2009 Vikas received the Gateshead Award by the Mayor for outstanding service to Gateshead. He was awarded Asian Business Connexions Art and Culture award in 2016, and then again in 2019. Vikas was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear in July 2024.
Currently Vikas holds various non-executive roles including Vice Chair/Trustee of Bensham Grove Community Centre, Trustee of Northern Stage, a Member of Newcastle University Court and nominations Committee, and Non-Exec Director of CNTW NHS Trust.
Katie Newell, Newcastle Hospitals Charity Arts Programme Manager
Katie Newell joined Newcastle Hospitals Charity (NHC) as Arts Programme Manager in 2021, where she has developed, piloted, and grown the cross-disciplinary Arts Programme, for the benefit of staff wellbeing and to improve the patient experience, across Newcastle Hospitals. The programme seeks to further connect with our communities to create creative opportunities that support healthier lives.
Prior to this role, Katie worked for ten years at BALTIC, Gateshead, latterly as Curator for the Performance and Public Programme. Katie has curated visual art public commissions, major exhibitions and live productions, while leading the development and implementation of performance work, embedding collaborative working at the centre of her practice.
Katie has a keen interest in multi-disciplinary arts and partnership working. Projects at Newcastle Hospitals include; Springbank Pavilion a unique partnership with Urban Green Newcastle, centring creative practice in nature; a partnership with New Writing North, hosting a Writer in Residence resulting in a publication of staff creative writings, After the Applause; NHS Darkroom, in collaboration with Sunderland University and photographer artist, Johannah Churchill, a project that supports staff developing their own photographs, seeing the hospitals and beyond through their lens.
Projects at BALTIC included: CONTINUOUS, the strategic partnership and national network with Siobhan Davies Dance; exhibitions, BALTIC Open Submission, Mick Peter, To Me to You 2019, Barby Asante, Declaration of Independence 2019 and Lubaina Himid, Our Kisses are Made of Petals 2018; live productions, Ultimate Dancer, Hevi Melte 2020 and Ravioli Me Away, The View From Behind The Futuristic Rose Trellis 2019.
Previous to BALTIC, Katie worked and volunteered in numerous organisations in the North East and holds an MA in Art Museum and Gallery Studies (Newcastle University) and BA(hons) in Fine Art (Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee University).
