Our Approach

Initial R&D

MYRIAD was commissioned by NHS Greater Manchester and developed in collaboration with a consortium of GM-based organisations and freelance practitioners who brought extensive experience in delivering creative mental health and wellbeing support for global majority communities. The consortium included Community Arts Northwest, Music Action International, Afrocats, Company Chameleon and Factory International.

MYRIAD was co-designed by the consortium and shaped by an initial research phase which gave us a grounded understanding of the challenges and opportunities for both practitioners and the broader voluntary and cultural sectors.

Our initial research revealed that in Greater Manchester:

A number of global majority practitioners already supported global majority communities with their mental health and wellbeing using music, craft, dance, theatre , visual arts, writing, and digital media.
Most activity happened in isolation. Practitioners and organisations were not well-networked and there were limited opportunities for shared learning, collaboration, or peer support.
Most practitioners did not have access to coaching, mentoring, or clinical supervision.
Creative mental health work was being delivered across a wide range of settings; in communities, with healthcare providers and in cultural organisations.
Practitioners generally worked alone or alongside, but not with clinicians.
Practitioners did not have easy access to mental health training.

Additional Findings

Practitioners also expressed a strong desire for training that was intersectional and culturally competent, covering areas such as LGBTQIA+ inclusion, neurodivergence, and gender-based violence. Many identified a need for improved visibility and advocacy for their work, along with practical skills like marketing, fundraising, and navigating commissioning processes.

Importantly, the development phase revealed a wealth of underutilised strengths. For example, many consortium organisations had in-house training programmes and supported volunteers and placements. However, this expertise was rarely shared across the consortium or the wider VCFSE, culture or health sectors.

Co-Design

In response to our findings, the consortium co-designed MYRIAD to:

Build networks and peer learning opportunities for creative practitioners from global majority communities.
Facilitate collaboration between artists and mental health professionals.
Remove access barriers through training bursaries, paid placements, and inclusive recruitment approaches.
Develop the global majority, creative health workforce by supporting emerging and early-career practitioners.
Connect mental health providers with a broader and more ethnically diverse pool of creative practitioners.
Showcase and amplify good practice within creative health, especially approaches grounded in community and cultural knowledge.
Position lived experience on a footing with clinical expertise.
Pilot new models of access to mental health and wellbeing support through creative, culturally competent practice that is rooted in communities.

The overarching aim of MYRIAD was to contribute to more equitable, connected, and culturally competent mental health support in Greater Manchester.

The Project

Resources

Our Approach

Initial R&D

Additional Findings

Co-Design

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