Background

It is widely accepted that people's lives are enhanced by arts. The UK Department of Health states that the arts have a major part to play in enhancing health and wellbeing (2007, Arts Council) including healthcare provision and environments.

Strong evidence indicates that the arts achieve positive outcomes for patients, staff, hospitals, mental health services and the health of the general population (Arts Council, 2007; Staricoff, 2006).

The National Social Inclusion Programme (NSIP) started with a focus on the visual arts with a unique partnership between, the Wallace Collection, the Museums Libraries and Arches Council, Tate Modern and the Victoria & Albert Museum. They aimed at promoting social inclusion for people with mental health problems through participation and access to galleries and museums. In order to achieve this, the training package Open to All was developed for museum and gallery staff. Building on the success of this work, the National Social Inclusion Programme then widened its focus on the arts to including the participatory arts.