About Us
Who are we?
Who are involved in AHSW?
AHSW has a membership from which the Trustees are elected at the AGMs in the Autumn.
The current Trustees are people who were involved either in arts and/or health.
Gabriel Scally, Regional Director for Public Health is Honorary Chair.
AHSW has a paid Co-ordinator and an Administrator
An Advisory Group has been established to support the work of AHSW.
Paid Workers
Emma Williams is the Co-ordinator. For advice contact her at info@ahsw.org.uk.
Alex Coulter is the Director. Contact her at alex@ahsw.org.uk.
- Chair - Jane Willis, Director, Willis Newson
- Vice Chair - Stephen Pettet Smith, Arts Coordinator, Exeter Healthcare Arts, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital
- Secretary - Nickola Moore, Poole Borough Council
- Treasurer - Johnny de Mearns, Artist
- Director/Trustee - Helen Bourner, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Director/Trustee - Frances Chinemana, Mana Research
- Director/Trustee - Sarah Cobley, Dance South West
- Director/Trustee - Norma Daykin, University of the West of England
- Director/Trustee - Rachel Millman, Head Music Therapist, Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy South West
- Director/Trustee - Simon Opher, GP, May Lane Surgery
- Director/Trustee - Peter Ursem, General Manager, Art Care, Salisbury Healthcare NHS Trust
Click here to view the current Board's biographies.
New Trustees are elected at AHSW’s AGM in the autumn. Contact the Co-ordinator if interested in getting involved.
Honorary Chair
AHSW’s Honorary Chair is Dr Gabriel Scally who is Regional Director for Public Health, based within Government Office of the South West.
In order to maximise the impact of AHSW there is a separate Advisory Group which have a specific role.
The Advisory Group :
- Advise and enable the Trustees to make strategic decisions
- Ensure AHSW has an overview of the sector as a whole and its constituent parts (for example in relation to Arts and Health regional and national policy developments; the needs of the Arts and Health sector; significant changes within the NHS, Arts and Voluntary Sectors)
- Provide a two way flow of information to and from other key strategic regional bodies
- Advise on sub-sector specific needs, trends and issues (for example in relation to specific health issues, art-forms, or client groups)
- Act as public representatives and advocates for AHSW
Although the Advisory Group play a key role in relation to Arts and Health South West, they have no formal powers to make decisions on behalf of the organisation, as this rests with the Trustees.
Who Advisors represent
Below are examples of the kind of areas the Advisory Group represent:
- Government Bodies such as Arts Council England South West, DCMS, SW Observatory, South West Development Centre, Creating Excellence
- NHS Commissioning bodies and Health Service providers such as Acute Trusts, Mental Health Trusts, Primary Care Trusts, Strategic Health Authorities, and General Practitioners
- Organisations which work with specific client groups such as Help the Aged, MIND, Age Concern
- Voluntary Sector such as the South West Forum, C.V.S.s (Councils for Voluntary Service), Community Councils
- Local Authorities such as NALGAO representative (National Association of Local Government Arts Officers)
- Arts and Humanities such as representative from Peninsula Medical School
- Arts Therapies such as Self Heal Association or representative from one of the arts therapies’ professional associations like BAAT
- Arts Form groups and individual artists such as representative from Dance South West or Lapidus (poetry and creative writing), Rosetta Life (artists who work in hospices)
- Arts organisations and individual artists
- Research and evaluation through an H.E. or F.E. institution which has a track record in Arts and Health research and evaluation such as U.W.E or Exeter University
Who is on the Advisory Group?
- Creative Partnerships: Matt Little
- Creative Therapy Service: Brenda Rawlinson
- Dance South West: Kate Castle
- Devon Partnership Trust: Nory Menneer
- Help the Aged: Guy Patterson
- Lapidus: Claire Williamson
- Live Music Now! South West: Ali Smith
- Look Ahead Housing: Tessa Fitzjohn
- Myrtle Theatre Company: Heather Williams
- National Children's Bureau: Helen Chambers
- North Bristol NHS Trust: Sonia Mills & Tricia Down
- Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry: Dr Alan Bleakley
- Prema: Gordon Scott
- Public Art South West: Maggie Bolt
- Self Heal Association: Malcolm Learmonth
- South West Development Centre: Trish Stokoe
- South West Forum: Steve Woolletts
- UWE: Norma Daykin
Who are the Patrons of AHSW?
- Dorset County Council
- Self Heal Association
- Somerset Primary Care Trust
- South West Development Centre
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AHSW Trustee Biographies 2009/10
Jane Willis
Director, Willis Newson / Chair of Arts & Health South West
Jane is the driving force behind Willis Newson, the UK’s leading arts consultancy working with health, community and education partners in public spaces and specialising in the field of arts and health.
Jane founded Willis Newson in 2002. Her knowledge of and passion for arts and health provide the inspiration for everything the company does. She has been a key player in the development of the arts and health field since 1994, when she set up Vital Arts, the arts programme of Barts and the London NHS Trust from 1994 – 2000.
Chair of Arts & Health South West, Jane also sits on the steering group for the establishment of a national forum for arts and health. She has been consulted by the Department of Health on its approach towards supporting arts and health nationally, and is a part of the national arts and health research network supported by the Department of Health.
Stephen Pettet-Smith
Director, Exeter Healthcare Arts / Vice Chair of Arts & Health South West
Stephen has managed Exeter Healthcare Arts, The Arts & Health programme for the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, since 1998.
Previously Senior Commissions officer for Cardiff Bay Arts Trust, Stephen also led the arts, craft and design element of Britain’s last National Garden Festival.
Stephen’s work links creativity with community and personal development.
Within Exeter’s cultural life Stephen contributes his experience and time by being chair of trustees for Exeter Arts Council.
Nickola Moore
Borough of Poole Arts Development Manager/NALGAO regional representative / Secretary of Arts & Health South West
Nickola has been working in the field of Arts Development for 12 years. She is currently the Arts development Manager for Poole Borough Council and is responsible for managing the Arts and Health provision for the council as part of her remit.
John de Mearns BA MA MTI
Fine artist, curator and Qi Gong practitioner/Treasurer of Arts & Health South West
As a Master Printmaker and registered bodywork therapist John explores image creation on and through glass. Exploiting the qualities of this material both for it's potential as a surface on which to deliver up imagery through kiln firing process and as a viewer through which to generate both still and moving visuals.
Enthralled by creation, perception and wellbeing John’s endeavour is to explore the place where, through the spontaneous creative and intuitive use of the physical body we can come to know more, feel more and perceive more. John is interested in ‘consciousnesses and the potential of engaging with consciousness through the body combined with the idea of 'illness as metaphor' (Susan Sontag) and therefore 'well-being'. He is passionate about printmaking, dance and the generation of music and image as processes. John has 25 years of printmaking experience, alongside 14 years working as a complimentary healthcare practitioner.
Helen Bourner
Director of Business Development, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Swindon
Helen worked previously at Barnsley NHS Foundation Trust and before that was at the NHS University (NHSU) where she was the national lead for the NHS Customer Care programme. Helen’s interest in the arts in health movement came from her time at NHS Estates where she worked on raising the profile of arts in health nationally and facilitated the production of two publications; The Art of Good Health, Using visual arts in healthcare, and The Art of Good Health, a practical handbook.
In her role in Swindon, Helen chairs the Trust Arts Group, and is keen as a member of the Trustees for Arts in Health South West to ensure that health organisations across the region understand the key role arts can play in improving health outcomes, and improving the patient experience; both of which are key aspects of the current national agenda in health.
Frances Chinemana
Director, Mana Research
Frances was a Research Director at the independent research agency Opinion Leader for two years, until September 2009 when she left to set up her own research and consultancy company. At Opinion Leader she was responsible for developing the company’s research and engagement work across the health and social care sectors, and in particular working with Bell Pottinger and McKinseys to deliver a social marketing programme for the NHS.
Frances has many years experience in facilitation and training, and in a range of qualitative and quantitative research techniques, having used them in settings from very large deliberative events through to one-to-one interviews and small groups.
Prior to joining NHS Direct, Frances worked for 11 years in overseas development in Zimbabwe, including three years in the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Zimbabwe, and for four years in Namibia as a Project Officer with UNICEF. She has a BA in Sociology, a Masters in Public Health and is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health, registered on the UK Voluntary Register as a Public Health Specialist.
Sarah Cobley
Partnership Director, Dance South West
Sarah is the Partnership Director for Dance South West, the regional strategic agency for dance development in the South West. She leads on the development of Youth Dance, the Cultural Olympiad, Fresh – A graduate development programme and Dance and Health. She recent negotiated a unique post based with the Department of Health to embed dance into the delivery of the National Physical Activity Strategy. Sarah previously spent five years with Attik Dance as Business Manager, was the Commercial Manager for an Educational Consultancy and has set and run her own production company.
Norma Daykin, BA (Hons) Social Sciences, PGDip (music) MSc, PhD (Health Policy)
Professor of Arts in Health, University of the West of England
Norma Daykin has twenty years experience of evaluating and researching healthcare interventions. She is Professor of Arts in Health at UWE, Bristol where she leads a multidisciplinary research programme exploring the role and impact of diverse art forms in healthcare settings. This encompasses a wide range of evaluation and research approaches including systematic reviews, documentary analysis, experimental methods, qualitative research and reflective evaluation. Norma is co-executive editor of ‘Arts & Health, an International Journal of Research, Policy and Practice’.
Rachel Millman
Head Music Therapist, Nordoff Robbins South West
Rachel trained as a music therapist and works for Nordoff Robbins South West to set up, manage and develop new music therapy projects in partnership with other organisations within the region. Rachel has over 14 years experience of working through music with clients, staff and families in variety of health, education, social care and community settings. She is also interested in the role of music technology in music therapy. Alongside music therapy, Rachel is co-ordinating a 2 year Arts & Health Programme for Borough of Poole. She plays flute and piano.
Simon Opher
GP, May Lane Surgery
Simon is a GP in Dursley Gloucestershire. He trained at St Marys Hospital London. He has run an artist in residence scheme in his GP practice for the last 9 years, working with fine artists, poets, ceramicists, drama therapists, felt artists and dancers. His current project now has a permanent artist in the surgery. Simon is also doing a Dementia project with a poet as part of the primary health care team. He also set up a salsa on prescription scheme that is very popular. He is currently supporting the Artlift scheme bringing 9 artists to work in GP surgeries. Next year he will be researching the effect of this, specifically on GP consultation rates and commissioning spend before and after seeing the artist.
Simon’s main passion is writing, he has written two unpublished novels and is producing an anthology of poetry. He has three children, plays cricket and football. In addition Simon is the chair of Prema arts centre and chair of Berkeley Hospital and also chair of the commissioning unit for primary care.
Peter Ursem
Manager, ArtCare, Salisbury Healthcare NHS Trust
Since the start of the project in 1993, ArtCare has build up a rich programme of visual, participatory and performing arts for the benefits of patients, staff and visitors to the hospital. Although ArtCare is mainly charitably funded, the arts service is fully integrated within the organisational structure of Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, and gets involved in a wide range of hospital projects where a creative approach is desirable, whether this is the commissioning of artworks for a new extension or the promotion of good hand hygiene. ArtCare also has a active exhibition scheme, with monthly changing exhibitions.
Apart from his work at Salisbury Hospital, Peter Ursem is a visual artist (painting and printmaking). He is a trustee of Dorset Visual Arts (co-ordinators of Dorset Art Weeks) and chairman of Counterparts MTA, a charitable organisation bringing new music, theatre and arts to the South West.
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