Thank you for all your support.
That’s a wrap for 2019, and what a year it’s been!
We are thrilled to have finished the year on a high – the Arts Wellbeing Collective received two wonderful accolades:
- Finalist in the VicHealth Awards in the category of Improving Mental Wellbeing
- Winner of the Martin Seligman Health and Wellbeing Award, AHRI Awards
We are honoured to be included alongside so many wonderful organisations doing incredible work.
This year we have worked with our 300+ member organisations, as well as clinicians and subject matter experts in:
Supporting touring parties through a dedicated focus on mentally healthy touring, including the development of Tour Well – promoting positive mental health and wellbeing on tour and Tour Well for Tour Managers – tips and techniques for designing tours to promote positive mental health and wellbeing, as well as activations at Showcase Victoria and Performing Arts Exchange.
Supporting performing artists through dedicated Performance Energy Meditations and tools and techniques such as Your Pocket Guide to De-Role – tips for getting out of character and back to your wonderful self.
Supporting technical and production teams through delivery of dedicated Mental Health Literacy sessions as part of Tech Connect, the VAPAC Tech Managers Network, and the development of dedicated signage, Walk, Talk, Support, Report: Back of house poster.
Sharing stories of initiatives that promote positive mental health through Spotlight, the Arts Wellbeing Collective Magazine and House Lights Up, a podcast series exploring the challenges of forging a career in the arts, and strategies for overcoming them.
Enabling help-seeking through the launch of the Support Act Wellbeing Helpline, a phone counselling service available 24/7 to anyone who works in the performing arts, and Mental Health First Aid, a tailored, accredited training program upskilling individuals in supporting someone who may be developing a mental health problem or in a mental health crisis.
The Arts Wellbeing Collective 2019 program by numbers:
- 60,000 print and digital copies of resources distributed
- 304 member organisations
- 120 performing arts practitioners trained in Mental Health First Aid, including 10 specifically trained in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid
- 45 workshops delivered, including 11 in regional areas
- 38 presentations delivered, including 5 in the USA and Europe
- 27 meetings held with leadership teams of arts organisations to discuss mental health and wellbeing in their companies
- 1 nationally accessible 24/7 phone counselling service!
Thank you again for your generosity, commitment and support. We can’t wait to see what 2020 brings!
Wishing you good health and creativity,
The team at Arts Centre Melbourne
