HEartS Follow On: Enhancing the Future of Creative Health and the Health of Creative Professionals
Lead Research Organisation:
Royal College of Music
Department Name: Research
Abstract
HEartS Policy is led by the Centre for Performance Science, a partnership of the Royal College of Music and Imperial College London. It leverages the knowledge produced during two previous AHRC funded projects; The Health, Economic and Social impact of the ARTs (HEartS) project (AHRC 2018-21, AH/P005888/1), and HEartS Professional (AHRC 2019-22, AH/V013874/1), alongside the key industry partners. Three work packages (WPs) are themed around different findings, with tailored insights of our findings adapted to the needs of different audiences.
WP1, Everyday HEarts: WP1 will comprise the development of a series of short, animated films targeting a public audience, highlighting key research findings on how arts and cultural engagement supports health and wellbeing, focused on the outcomes of HEartS. 90 second 'bitesize' animated films will give the lay public a direct and accessible route through which they can engage with knowledge that will enable them to enhance their practises to best support health and wellbeing. These animations will be complemented by a research report and educational resource pack, highlighting the key findings of the HEartS research. Using the same themes as the animated films, this pack will be oriented towards educators and aimed at integrating HEartS findings within personal, social, and health education. A primary objective of this resource is to support the use of the animations within schools as a tool for communicating the value of the arts for mental health and quality of life.
WP2, HEartS in Health and Practice: WP2 will comprise the development of a podcast series (comprised of eight, thirty-minute episodes) split into two parts: WP2a, HEartS for Health and WP2b, HEartS in Practice. These podcasts will consist of researchers and practitioners in conversation with (i) health and clinical workers (such as GPs, mental health and community practitioners) exploring how HEartS practices can be more effectively implemented in practice, and (ii) discussion on the health of creative professionals, drawing more explicitly on the findings of HEartS Professional. Both sets of podcasts will be accompanied by policy briefs targeting both government but also organisational and educational policy.
WP3, HEartS Summit: WP3 will develop a lasting impact for the findings of HEartS through the HEartS Summit. This two-day event brings together our project partners and other relevant stakeholders to (a) explore the interlinked outcomes of creative health and the future health of the creative workforce, and (b) collaboratively develop strategies for action that will cement project findings within policy and practice.
This project will serve to maximise the impact of HEartS and HEartS Professional, extending its findings to both more diverse and targeted audiences, and through exchange with our knowledge partners extending well beyond unidirectional dissemination activity. Our work packages seek to maximise the accessibility of our research insights, and with the close collaboration of our partners, to enhance the social, economic and policy impact of the work beyond the lifespan of the project. In particular, tailored activities within each of the work packages will ensure that key messages are not just shared but presented alongside strategies to support long term change. Overall, the distinctive interlinked perspective of HEartS Follow On, combining the future of creative health alongside the health of creative professionals, will both build pathways for the integration of creative health into education, policy, and artistic practice, while also enhancing the sustainability and flourishing of the arts and cultural industries.
WP1, Everyday HEarts: WP1 will comprise the development of a series of short, animated films targeting a public audience, highlighting key research findings on how arts and cultural engagement supports health and wellbeing, focused on the outcomes of HEartS. 90 second 'bitesize' animated films will give the lay public a direct and accessible route through which they can engage with knowledge that will enable them to enhance their practises to best support health and wellbeing. These animations will be complemented by a research report and educational resource pack, highlighting the key findings of the HEartS research. Using the same themes as the animated films, this pack will be oriented towards educators and aimed at integrating HEartS findings within personal, social, and health education. A primary objective of this resource is to support the use of the animations within schools as a tool for communicating the value of the arts for mental health and quality of life.
WP2, HEartS in Health and Practice: WP2 will comprise the development of a podcast series (comprised of eight, thirty-minute episodes) split into two parts: WP2a, HEartS for Health and WP2b, HEartS in Practice. These podcasts will consist of researchers and practitioners in conversation with (i) health and clinical workers (such as GPs, mental health and community practitioners) exploring how HEartS practices can be more effectively implemented in practice, and (ii) discussion on the health of creative professionals, drawing more explicitly on the findings of HEartS Professional. Both sets of podcasts will be accompanied by policy briefs targeting both government but also organisational and educational policy.
WP3, HEartS Summit: WP3 will develop a lasting impact for the findings of HEartS through the HEartS Summit. This two-day event brings together our project partners and other relevant stakeholders to (a) explore the interlinked outcomes of creative health and the future health of the creative workforce, and (b) collaboratively develop strategies for action that will cement project findings within policy and practice.
This project will serve to maximise the impact of HEartS and HEartS Professional, extending its findings to both more diverse and targeted audiences, and through exchange with our knowledge partners extending well beyond unidirectional dissemination activity. Our work packages seek to maximise the accessibility of our research insights, and with the close collaboration of our partners, to enhance the social, economic and policy impact of the work beyond the lifespan of the project. In particular, tailored activities within each of the work packages will ensure that key messages are not just shared but presented alongside strategies to support long term change. Overall, the distinctive interlinked perspective of HEartS Follow On, combining the future of creative health alongside the health of creative professionals, will both build pathways for the integration of creative health into education, policy, and artistic practice, while also enhancing the sustainability and flourishing of the arts and cultural industries.
Publications
Spiro N
(2024)
The HEartS Professional Model: A conceptual model for arts professionals' work and wellbeing
in Social Sciences & Humanities Open
| Description | The HEartS Follow On project has developed and disseminated key findings from the HEartS and HEartS Professionals projects through animations, podcasts and our Summit event in September 2024. This event brought together stakeholders from across the creative industries to provide a 360-degree view of the future of creative health and the creative workforce. The summit emphasised the need for systemic change, collaboration and sustainable support structures for creative professionals. Building on our research findings, discussions highlighted how the pandemic intensified existing challenges, such as financial precarity and mental health struggles, leading to a rise in anxiety, burnout and career instability. Programmes like Music Minds Matter and Equity's mental health programme were cited as positive steps in supporting artists' wellbeing, but roundtable participants emphasised how funding remains limited. Discussions also highlighted the need for long-term financial security, and solutions to provide a basic income for artists during creative development. Education was identified as a critical tool in preparing artists for sustainable careers, particularly in creative health where art is used to support mental and physical wellbeing. Many early-career artists feel unprepared for the realities of freelance work, especially in interdisciplinary fields like arts and health. Institutions that took part in the summit highlighted the importance of expanding curricula to include training in areas such as arts in healthcare settings, and community-based creative projects, with models at the Liverpool Philharmonic highlighted as good practice. Lifelong learning and professional development programmes were proposed to help mid-career artists transition into these roles. Sustainable funding, interdisciplinary collaboration and greater cultural recognition of the arts' role in public health were seen as essential to ensuring long-term success in creative health careers. There was also further emphasis on integrating creative health in schools, highlighting the potential for the HEartS animations to support teachers to integrate creative health strategies into the classroom. |
| Exploitation Route | HEartS Follow On has engaged researchers, arts practitioners, healthcare professionals, educators and policy makers through the HEartS Summit in September 2024 and through subsequent animations and podcast episodes, highlighting key findings from the HEartS and HEartS Professionals projects. Actions discussed at the Summit and developed in the animations and through the podcast included: (1) the need for long-term financial security and solutions to provide a basic income for artists during creative development, (2) interdisciplinary collaboration and greater cultural recognition of the arts' role in public health to ensure long-term success in creative health careers, and (3) support for teachers to integrate creative health strategies into classrooms. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy Education Healthcare Leisure Activities including Sports Recreation and Tourism Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://performancescience.ac.uk/ |
| Description | The HEartS Follow On project continues to create significant impact within the current timescale of the project. The HEartS Summit was hosted at the RCM in September 2024, with over 100 attendees from across creative health, including practitioners, policymakers, managers and academia. Key contributors included speakers from Equity, Musicians Union, Centre for Creative Health, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Central School of Speech and Drama, the Society of Authors and the Glasshouse. Subsequent conversations and ongoing collaborations with partners beyond the summit have continued to highlight the need for further research and data in the field of creative professionals' wellbeing and its links to creative health more widely, a currently under-addressed area of policy and practice. Following a successfully launch in January 2025, the HEartS Follow On podcast, Performance Science, is available on all major podcast platforms with further listeners on YouTube. Recorded in conversation at the Royal College of Music, this series includes expert guests from across the creative industries, including from Equity, BAPAM, Royal Society of Musicians and the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, alongside researchers at the Centre for Performance Science. Sharing and dissemination from podcasts guests and partners from the third sector, particularly on LinkedIn and Bluesky, have enabled dissemination across diverse, non-academic audiences as well as with academic colleagues. Animations highlighting the key findings of the HEartS project and the role of the arts in supporting wellbeing have been recently launched on YouTube. Work is ongoing with schools and teachers to integrate animations into a wider suite of educational resources, to be launched in Spring 2025. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Education,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Policy & public services |
| Description | DCMS presentation: Impact of COVID-19 on Professionals in the Arts |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | A framework for arts professionals' work and wellbeing: Learning from the HEartS, Professional Survey data - talk at ISPS 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk entitled 'A framework for arts professionals' work and wellbeing: Learning from the HEartS, Professional Survey data, delivered at International Symposium on Performance Science 2023, 17 - 20 August 2023, Warsaw, Poland to an audience of researchers and students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Animated Series: Using the arts to support health and wellbeing |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A animated series detailing the findings of HEartS and how the arts can support wellbeing was released on YouTube in 2025. Following consultation with practitioners and school leaders, an accompanying educational resource will be released alongside the animations to support their use in schools with teachers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrDcFfvZO5M&list=PLLuznx6bv3UR5usaqEqFx5K5_J7TmrqDr |
| Description | HEartS Summit: The future of creative health and the creative workforce |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | In September 2024, the Royal College of Music hosted the HEartS Summit. The aim of this event was to create a lasting legacy for HEartS and HEartS Professional research, providing a space for all stakeholders to engage creatively and collaboratively on pathways to policy implementation and cultural change across the sector. Organisations and public interest groups previously engaged with the project as part of the policy consultation phase participated in roundtable discussions, as well as presentations from researchers about the next steps for the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Performance Science: Podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Performance Science podcast was produced as part of HEartS Follow On project to explore more deeply the findings of the research from the HEartS and HEartS Professional projects. Released in 2025, the first season features conversations with researchers and industry leaders, looking at the wellbeing of performing artists through conversations with performers and those working across the creative industries. Specifically, we consider how the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic has shed a light on the broader challenges of being a performing artist and ask what the future holds for the creative workforce. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://performancescience.ac.uk/podcast/ |
| Description | Promoting arts professionals' livelihoods beyond COVID-19: Findings and implications of the HEartS Professional project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine - engagement with third sector organisations including Help Musicians and clinician practitioners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |