This is a new project led by the University of Liverpool looking at the relationship between arts and mental health. In this blog, the Principal Investigator Professor Josie Billington explains more about the project and its aims and objectives.

What is new about the CARE research?

Current research in the UK and worldwide is understandably focused principally on overcoming the physical health challenges posed by COVID-19. While some studies of the psychological and social effects of social isolation are already underway (Fancourt, UCL, 2020), Covid-19 CARE is the first study to assess the impact on mental health of restricted access to arts and culture within a specific city region, and to map the innovation in provision in the arts and cultural sector which the COVID-19 crisis has generated, as well as the success of these changes in making the arts accessible during lockdown.

What will CARE achieve?

We anticipate that our research will produce two key outcomes to advance knowledge around COVID-19, which will be critical to the Liverpool City Region’s socio-economic health in the first instance but potentially of value far beyond. The first expected outcome is practical and short-term. Our study will establish which modes of innovation are mitigating risks around access (especially for those vulnerable to experiencing mental health issues) and share successful models via workshops and a live database, enabling cultural partners to improve public mental health. The second expected outcome is strategic and long-term. In quantifying the impact on public mental health and wellbeing of restricted access to arts and culture, as well as the impact on mental health of renewed or alternative forms of access during the lifespan of the project, our study will contribute crucial evidence in support of building back a vibrant arts culture in Liverpool better oriented towards mental health.

Why is the CARE project important?

Re-igniting the cultural life of Liverpool, and of all UK cities and their regions, by repairing their cultural infrastructure through re-investment will be a key post-pandemic challenge. It is a challenge that might risk low prioritisation, however, if arts and culture are deemed a relative privilege or luxury when weighed against the urgent need to address economic and social deprivations. Our study aims to provide the evidence for the cost to public mental health of the loss of arts and cultural goods. It will also assess the value of successful innovations in mental health outcomes and the risks of exclusion from new patterns of provision.

Our study’s findings will have relevance and reach across the UK and be disseminated to researchers and arts and health organisations via the full range of research, health, government and charitable networks and think tanks, including the ESRC What Works Centre for Wellbeing, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Arts, Health/Wellbeing, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the New Economics Foundation (NEF), Arts in Health NHS, and the International Health Humanities Network. Given the thriving state of arts in mental health care, we predict a rapid and widespread take-up of the fruits of this research.

Professor Josie Billington, Department of English, PI, Covid-19 CARE.