Kilkenny and Carlow County Councils are thrilled to announce the launch of “Living Artfully,” a ground-breaking joint initiative funded by Creative Ireland. This innovative project is designed to enhance Creativity for Health and Wellbeing within our communities.
Living Artfully extends an open invitation to service users and staff from Traveller Support Services, Dementia Friendly Services, Mental Health Services, Cancer Support Services, Integration Teams, Social Prescribing Services and the HSE. This Therapeutic Intervention and Health Programme endeavours to foster creative, healthy, and beneficial habits in participants’ lives. Utilising various art forms, hands-on experience and approaches the project proposes to encourage participation for all ages, sharing the enjoyment and experiences of music, song, art, movement and creative practices.
This initiative will use singing, music and creativity as a vehicle to improve self-expression, creasing confidence, affirming identity, whilst celebrating existing skills and nurturing new ones.
At the launch event held in Carlow Town Hall Chamber on Wednesday, 25th September, Cathaoirleach of Carlow County Council, Cllr. Fergal Brown, expressed his enthusiasm: “This initiative will use music, song, and creativity as a vehicle to improve/maintain the health and wellbeing of our communities. It will offer a means for self-expression, increasing confidence, affirming identity, celebrating existing skills and nurturing new ones.”
Anne-Marie Shortall, Creative Kilkenny Coordinator with Kilkenny County Council said ‘we are delighted to be working with Carlow County Council on this joint initiative to enhance and broaden creative opportunities for all communities across Counties Kilkenny and Carlow.”
Majella Keating, Creative Communities Engagement Officer, added, “We believe in the inherent creative potential of all communities across Kilkenny.
Through Creative Ireland Kilkenny, we aim to meet the needs of our communities by collaborating with local agencies and partners. The vision for Living Artfully is to support and encourage a community that enjoys the richness and joy of a vibrant cultural life. We eagerly anticipate its growth in Kilkenny and Carlow over the next two years. We are committed to supporting artists as equal partners throughout this process, fostering a community of practice that will provide valuable insights for future projects based on evidence-based practices in care settings.”
Stay updated with the Kilkenny Creative Ireland Programme by following Creative Kilkenny on Facebook. Creative Ireland Kilkenny is managed by Kilkenny County Council Community Section as part of the National Creative Ireland Programme.
