West Midlands

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is looking to commission an artist to engage with local children and young people to create appropriate child-friendly artwork for display in its Paediatric Emergency Department.

A mix of academics, artists and activists representing diversity from across the UK and USA are coming together for a symposium to explore ideas around disability, diversity and its place in the cultural mainstream.

For more information click here.

Madlove, a new project which aims to challenge orthodoxies of thinking about mental health environments, is planning a series of workshops to question what would make for spaces for people experiencing mental distress.

The workshops will take place across the country through the autumn and are open to people with experience of the mental health system and those with an interest in how mental health facilities could be better designed. Dates for workshops are:

Geese Theatre Company has been at the forefront of arts based practice with offenders for the past 26 years. The organisation is once again running a three-day course open to anyone who is interested in, or has experience of working with offenders and young people at risk of offending. The course is also recommended for students of Applied Theatre, Prison Theatre and associated studies. Participants will be invited to experience and practice a variety of drama-based methods for use in group work, with focus on exploring some of the basic principles behind Geese's work with offenders.

The Better Care Fund (BCF) was announced by the UK Government in the June 2013 Spending Review. Nationally it is a £3.8 billion pooled budget for health and social care services, shared between the NHS and Local Authorities, to deliver better outcomes and greater efficiencies through more integrated services for older and disabled people.

Training sessions in Plymouth and Leicester as part of the Cultural Commissioning Learning Programme. These phases are designed to help middle and senior managers in arts, museums, libraries to engage in public service commissioning.

Phase 1: A two day session designed to help you understand and prepare to engage in commissioning, and covers awareness-raising, knowledge and skills development.

The West Midlands Arts, Health and Wellbeing (WMAHW) Arts and Health Awards 2014 are seeking nominations to recognise significant contributions to arts and health work across the West Midlands.

The Courtyard Centre for the Arts in Hereford is seeking an Arts & Older People Project Manager to develop and deliver the arts and older people strand of the organisation’s work. £22,000 per annum. Deadline 12 noon, 13 March

w: www.courtyard.org.uk/about/job-vacancies/general-vacancies

The University of Birmingham School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine is inviting applications for a research associate to join a project examining the ways that creative arts practices can be used to inform health-related policy and service development.

The Orchard Foundation is running a series of short courses exploring the impact of creative writing on psychological wellbeing. The courses offer confidence-building writing approaches, with advice on ways to explore themes and find how exercises could be used with others.

Next courses:

15-16 February in Birmingham - Level 1

12-13 April in London – Level 2

14-15 June in Bristol - Level 3

Cost £140 for 2-day weekend course (£150 London). Early bird discounts available.