As Head of Programmes and Engagement at Dulwich Picture Gallery I have built expertise in health and wellbeing. I work across the spectrum from general wellbeing to targeted work in clinical services with a strong understanding of the creative health landscape.

In the UK health inequalities mean that while some enjoy the highest standards of living, for many others it's a different story. Communities lack the social, economic and environmental conditions to lead healthy lives. Art can change how we feel and function. The 2019 WHO report 'What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being?' looked at over 3,000 global studies, concluding that the arts play a major role in preventing and managing poor health. Yet communities with the highest health inequality experience substantial barriers to accessing creative health.

In Japan the development of 'museum bathing' projects offers a new way of conceptualising creative health to make it as normal as taking a daily bath. Through my Fellowship I aim to understand how this everyday and destigmatising practice might help us to tackle health inequality in the UK and improve who can who can benefit from the arts.