Welcome to the new CHWA Midland’s Regional Lead, Laura Phillips

Laura is the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance’s new Midlands Regional Lead, focusing primarily on creative health in Derbyshire. We are proud to host this CHWA role at Arts Derbyshire, where Laura will work closely with and be supported by our Creative Health team. 

The Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance is the sole free-to-join membership organisation for creative health across England. CHWA provide networked, collaborative advocacy, support and resources, supporting health and wellbeing for all through creative and cultural practice. Creative health can contribute to the prevention of ill-health, promotion of healthy behaviours, management of long-term conditions, and treatment and recovery across the life course.

Here at Arts Derbyshire our Creative Health team, leading on project development and delivery as well as strategic sector development and support across the county, have close ties with CHWA. Our Social Prescribing Development Manager, Deborah Munt, is a Trustee of the organisation, and the Creative Health Manager, Helena Reynolds, is an East Midlands Arts Champion. Both have worked with CHWA to develop and support the sector locally and nationally for over a decade. This feeds into our work here in Derbyshire, enabling us to better support the sector to flourish.

Helena Reynolds says:

”Over recent years, there has been a growing cross-sector understanding of the impact that creative or cultural activity can have on health and wellbeing. At the same time, the environment for creative practitioners is tougher than ever which is why we have a focus on supporting practitioners to be the best they can be. Right now, through our Social Prescribing Development programme, we are working to embed the use of creativity within health services to help people become well or to stay well. We are doing this through work at a hyper-local level, developing projects on the ground that meet unmet needs and challenge inequalities, and also within health systems through advocacy, knowledge sharing and relationship building. We are thrilled that Laura will be joining us at this pivotal time, taking this work further for creative health in Derbyshire.”

Laura will be tasked with developing strategic and infrastructural support for creative health, focussing mainly on Derbyshire but with a light-touch remit for the Midlands. She aims to bring together local and regional partners, and scope and develop models for commissioning, investment and practice, learning from existing work and partnerships across Derbyshire. Initially the role will continue until March 2026.

Laura says:  “I like to connect people across disciplines and sectors […] working with community leaders, health professionals, local government, academia, artists and cultural partners means different perspectives and constant learning.”

Find out more about Laura in her Day in the Life blog here.