Our mission is to promote and develop the application of creativity and the arts for health and quality of life outcomes for all people in Australia, regardless of age, race, gender or religious or political persuasion.
To foster co-operation, information and resource sharing between groups and individuals to ensure effective and efficient use of arts and creative services to meet the needs of people with disabilities and/or disadvantage.
To provide a direct link, through consultative processes, with government and non-government organisations involved in, or intending to be involved in, the field of the arts and creative expression.
In 2019, The Australian Centre for Arts and Health was evacuated from its premises due to the bushfires. COVID 19 followed soon after in 2020 and the mainstay of the organisation – arranging annual international arts and health conferences, established in 2009 – came to a close. And then came the floods which again impacted the organisation.
We are now emerging from some challenging times and recently hosted a live music performance in Port Macquarie’s Glasshouse Theatre with international stars bass baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Australia’s Phantom of the Opera Josh Piterman and pianist, conductor and guest ABC presenter Guy Noble.
The concert was supported by the NSW Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing (MACA), the official advisory body to the NSW Government on matters of interest to older people.
Our aim was to open the doors again to high calibre live music performance and welcome people back to the theatre in our region.
We wanted to provide an opportunity for seniors, who might not usually attend such an event, experience the power of live music performances to uplift, inspire and connect people, particularly in challenging times such as COVID. And we wanted to support the NSW government’s objective of reducing isolation for seniors.
We were overwhelmed by the audience’s appreciation with resounding cheers for the performers who were also coming out of their two year hibernation from COVID19.
Now we are collating post event information to inform our evidence base about the impact of live music performance on health and wellbeing.
We are rebuilding for the future and continue to support the realm of arts, health and creative ageing, with a broader focus which encompasses creativity, wellbeing and the environment. More news about this to come.
We continue to be active on facebook – please follow the Australian Centre for Arts and Health and contribute your ideas and experiences on https://www.facebook.com/ausartsandhealth/
With best wishes, Margret Meagher, Executive Director, The Australian Centre for Arts and Health – email margret@artsandhealth.org