Plymouth’s model for Creative Health - how culture and the sea are shaping a healthier city

Creativity is not just a pastime but a vital part of how we stay healthy - and in Plymouth, that simple belief is helping to shape how health and wellbeing are supported across the city. From artists and community organisers to health professionals and local government, the city is showing how culture can connect people, strengthen communities and improve wellbeing for all.

What we mean by Creative Health

Creative Health describes how arts, culture and creativity can support physical, mental and social wellbeing. It is no longer an abstract idea. The 2017 All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing report provided the first strong evidence that creative activity could improve recovery rates, reduce loneliness and even cut GP visits by over a third.

Since then, the case has grown even stronger. The Creative Industries Council Health and Wellbeing Report (2025) and Arts Council England’s research both show that creative engagement reduces pressure on healthcare services, improves mental health and helps people stay well for longer.

Jayne Howard, Programme Manager at the National Centre for Creative Health, explained at Plymouth’s first Creative Health Network event in October 2025.

“Creativity was one of the most important factors in protecting people’s mental health during lockdown,” she says.

“We saw how it helped people manage stress, find connection and maintain their wellbeing when everything else was stripped away.”

Creative Health is now being embedded in national strategy. The National Centre for Creative Health’s Creative Health Review (2023) calls for stronger partnerships between health and culture, including Creative Health Boards in each region, a creative health workforce, and a public campaign to build awareness of creativity’s role in wellbeing.

“People already know that eating well and exercising are good for their physical health,” Jayne said. “Now we need to help them make that same connection between creativity and health.”

Here in Plymouth, that understanding is being put into practice through the Creative Health Network and through collaborative work linking the city’s arts, culture and wellbeing sectors.

The Creative Health Network is bringing this approach to life in Plymouth. Led by Plymouth Culture in partnership with the city’s Wellbeing Hubs Network and supported by initiatives such as Sea for Yourself, the network connects artists, health professionals, community leaders and organisations who share a commitment to improving wellbeing through creativity.

Together, they are building a joined-up system where cultural activity is recognised as an integral part of how the city supports health, from neighbourhood projects to citywide programmes inspired by Plymouth Sound.

How Plymouth’s Wellbeing Hubs drive Creative Health

The connection between creativity and health is already visible in Plymouth’s Wellbeing Hubs, which bring local services and communities together.

Emma Corkery, who coordinates the network, sees creativity as a vital part of how the hubs support residents.

“People come to the hubs for all sorts of reasons,” she said. “They might be looking for advice, company, or simply somewhere to feel welcome. Creative activity gives them something to share and be part of. Whether it’s art, crafts, music or storytelling, it helps people feel good about themselves again.”

For Emma, Creative Health is about designing wellbeing through creativity, not leaving it to chance.

“There’s already so much creativity happening naturally in communities,” she added. “The opportunity now is to make it intentional, to see it as essential to people’s health, not just an add-on.”

Across the network, small creative moments, a painting session, a community mural, or a shared song, are proving as powerful in helping people rebuild confidence and connection.

The influence of Blue Mind and wellbeing

Few places are better suited to explore the connection between creativity, environment and health than Plymouth.

The late Dr Wallace J. Nichols, in his influential book Blue Mind, showed that being near, in, on or under water can reduce stress, increase calmness and boost creativity. His work revealed what many people already feel instinctively, that water restores and renews us.

That insight is at the heart of Sea for Yourself. Through its commissions and community projects, the programme uses creativity and technology to make the wellbeing benefits of the ocean tangible. By inviting people to rediscover Plymouth Sound through immersive art, storytelling and shared experience, Sea for Yourself aims to strengthen the bond between people and place.

Hannah Harris, CEO of Plymouth Culture, said: “Culture and creativity are essential parts of what makes us feel well. Projects like Sea for Yourself show how creativity can help people reconnect - to the environment, to their community, and to themselves. This fosters a sense of belonging which is critical for wellbeing.”

How Sea For Yourself puts Creative Health into action

Plymouth has always drawn strength and identity from the sea, shaping how people live, how they work, and how they see themselves. It is part of daily life and a source of inspiration, calm and resilience.

It is also becoming a backdrop for how we think about health and the role of creativity in our lives.

Through Sea for Yourself, a four-year programme led by Plymouth Culture in partnership with Plymouth Sound National Marine Park and Plymouth City Council, the city is exploring how art, storytelling and digital innovation can help people reconnect with the sea, with their surroundings, and with each other.

But Sea for Yourself is about more than art. It is about community wellbeing, identity and resilience, the same values that sit at the heart of a national shift towards what is now known as Creative Health.

Sea for Yourself brings together artists, technologists and communities to explore what happens when creativity meets the sea. Each commission offers a different view of how art can inspire wellbeing and belonging.

Together, these projects blend art, environment and technology to create moments of reflection, joy and discovery, helping people feel part of something larger and more connected.

“Sea for Yourself isn’t just a cultural programme,” said Hannah. “It’s a catalyst for a new kind of ecosystem where art, technology and environment come together to strengthen wellbeing.”

Building momentum with the Creative Health Network

To build on this work, Plymouth Culture created the Creative Health Network in partnership with the Wellbeing Hub Network. The aim is simple: connect the dots between culture, health and community so that creativity becomes a recognised and intentional part of the city’s wellbeing system.

The network brings together artists, health workers, academics and community leaders. Its first meeting in October, featuring Jayne Howard and Emma Corkery at YMCA Plymouth, marked the start of a city-wide collaboration.

Plymouth Culture CEO Hannah Harris described it as a step change:

“We already have the ingredients here - creative talent, community energy and a health system open to new ideas. The Creative Health Network is about bringing those together, so Plymouth can model how creativity and health can work hand in hand.”

Jayne Howard believes this type of local network is exactly what the national Creative Health movement needs:

“There’s fantastic work happening all over the UK, but it’s often isolated. Networks like Plymouth’s create space for learning and collaboration, and that’s how we’ll build something sustainable.”

Wider benefits and social prescribing

National data shows that Creative Health saves money as well as improves lives. The Creative Industries Council’s Health and Wellbeing Report (2025) estimates that creative interventions can reduce hospital admissions by up to 27% and GP visits by 37%.

It also strengthens communities. Across the country, projects such as Hospital Rooms, The Power of Music Fund and Reading Well have shown that creative engagement can improve recovery, support people living with dementia, and build empathy between patients and professionals.

Emma has seen the same locally.

“When people take part in creative activity, they make friends, they form routines, they look forward to something again,” she says.

“It’s not just about making art, it’s about rebuilding confidence and connection.”

This shift from prescription to participation is the foundation of a healthier city, one where creativity is a form of everyday care.

Why Plymouth is leading the way

Plymouth’s success in Creative Health builds on a decade of investment in its cultural sector. The city has become a national leader in cultural placemaking, using creativity to drive inclusion, community renewal and environmental stewardship.

Projects such as Sea for Yourself and the Creative Health Network all show a commitment to joining culture, health, education and the environment into a shared vision for the city’s future.

Culture isn’t an add-on. It’s the thread that connects everything, our economy, our education, our wellbeing and our identity. By embedding creativity in health, we’re building a fairer, more connected city.

Join the creative health movement

The evidence is there, the partnerships are forming, and the benefits are clear. What comes next is public understanding.

“People already know to eat well and stay active,” said Jayne Howard. “Now we need to make it just as natural to say that creativity supports your health too.”

In Plymouth, that vision is already being realised. Through Sea for Yourself, the Creative Health Network and the Wellbeing Hubs, the city is showing that culture and creativity can help people feel well, stay connected and take pride in where they live.

If we want healthier, happier communities, creativity has to be part of the plan.

Plymouth’s work offers a model for the rest of the UK, proving that when we link creativity, health and place, we don’t just create art - we create hope, connection and the conditions for people to thrive.

From the sea that shapes its shoreline to the creative spirit that defines its people, Plymouth is showing that wellbeing is not just about medicine, it’s about meaning.

The science supports it, the policy now recognises it, and in Plymouth, it is already being lived and felt. Creativity is not a luxury. It is how we stay well, together.

To find out more about Plymouth’s Creative Health Network and join it yourself, visit this link.

This programme is being led by Plymouth Culture in partnership with Plymouth City Council and Plymouth Sound National Marine Park. Sea for Yourself is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England Place Partnership Fund.