The power of art for well-being
If you are new to my blog, I am the founder of Travel + Art + Nature and I recommend that you please read my very first post that was the catalyst for this project, “Why did I wake up in an ambulance?”
This experience was a real wake up call for me, I basically burnt out and it was a very stressful and anxious period in my life and let’s be honest we are all going to experience periods like this in our life. As per the above blog, I had recently lost my dad and myself and my entire work team were all put on notice of redundancy. I won’t repeat the entire blog above but at the time I managed a team of 45 people based in London, Edinburgh, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Kolkata India. As mentioned, my key strength is empathy and if you are an empathetic and compassionate person, then during periods of uncertainty and anxiety, people are naturally drawn towards you to discuss their concerns and fears as we are generally good listeners.
After my experience above, I have reflected on the period and I was actually very fortunate that I was based in London and I spent 3 days in a office in Canary Wharf and 2 days in a office in London Bridge, 5 minutes from the Tate modern Gallery in London.
My 2 days near the Tate Gallery, I would take my lunch on both days and eat it by the river Thames and then spend 40 minutes walking around the free Galleries in the Tate modern.
The famous Turbine Hall at the Tate modern London
The picture above is the famous turbine hall in the Tate Modern and in 1994 the former Bankside Power station was selected for the new gallery of modern and contemporary art. If you are visiting London, this gallery is a must visit and all the huge machinery was removed and stripped back to the original steel and brick structure. The video below is a brilliant celebration of the 21st anniversary and really highlights all the fantastic free and diverse exhibitions and performances in the turbine hall.
I did not realize at the time but my weekly visits to the Tate modern were proving a release and providing a mental rest from the stress and anxiety of work. I have also researched the concepts of mindfulness and mediation and I honestly believe the spending my lunch exploring art from artists such as Gilbert and George, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol to name a few. Just writing this section made me reflect and realize that I was actually so lucky to experience and view this great work in my lunch hour at work for free! (But I would make a donation at the collection area to help fund this amazing gallery.)
As I am writing this article, we are deep in the post pandemic recovery and in many countries in a cost-of-living crisis, fuel crisis and the war in Ukraine is running into the winter months. There is no wonder the global levels of anxiety and stress are increasing but the power of art could be one of your tools to help.
There have been numerous studies on the benefit of creating and observing art as a tool for stress and anxiety relief and it enables us to see things from a different perspective and feel connected to the people and the world around us.
“I hope that the power of art can make the world more peaceful, but in today’s busy modern world, we don’t always make enough time for ourselves or to see art”
This quote really resonated with me and in my articles, I often mention the phrase “The Clarity of mind”. From my experience, my mind was so overactive and busy, and I have realized that art was one of my coping mechanisms. That is why I have added exploring your creative skills or visiting an art gallery as one of the actions in the plan for a improvement in wellbeing.
A few ideas and sugesstions from my experience
Public art and street art
Maybe your city or local parks have free public art or street art, for example the famous “The Bean” by Anish Karpoor in Chicago or his sculpture “The ArcelorMittal Orbit” in Queen Elizabeth part that happens to be next to the stadium of my football/soccer team West Ham United! (See my photograph below).
“The Bean” by Anish Karpoor in Chicago
Walking is the best form of exercise and maybe you could look at the many free public art walking or history tours in your city and explore brilliant public art and burn calories at the same time!
I took the photograph above on my way to an evening game with my son to watch my football team. West Ham United. (Former Olympic stadium, 2012). This is not only an iconic sculpture but you can also take a life to the viewing platform 80m high and then come down via the world’s longest slide !
Street art can be very controversial, and some people will classify it as vandalism and travelling by tube in the 80s, I would be in this camp as the London Tube trains were a real mess. However, as per the above image from the Berlin wall, street art over the years has been a medium to tell a political or cultural story. In recent years, artists such as Banksy have brought street art to the mainstream and globally cities and local communities have embraced street art as an accepted genre of art. Please research your local street art tours or the next time you are in London, I would recommend Alternative London - East London's Cultural Tours & Street Art Workshops (alternativeldn.co.uk) This is a great opportunity to learn about the history of street art and also meet your walking target for the day! I was born in the East end of London and my dad arrived here as an immigrant from Ireland and this area of London is close to my heart.
The below mural that was started by the artist Dave Binnington and completed by Paul Butler helped by Ray Walker and Desmond Rochfort was completed in 1983. It depicts the battle of cable street, on 4 October 1936 a violent confrontation between the Metropolitan Police and local communities on the street was later named the 'Battle of Cable Street'. Communist, anarchist, labour and Jewish groups joined with locals to resist a planned march through the East End by Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists.
The Cable Street mural in London
The above is an example of the power of local and political art but for me it is a powerful image of how the East End of London has been the centre of immigration and a melting pot of cultures and unfortunately racism.
Explore your local galleries
I have already mentioned the profound impact the Tate Modern London had on my mental wellbeing, but I have also been very fortunate to visit Tate Britain and Tate Liverpool. My other favourite gallery is the National Portrait gallery in London. I first visited the gallery to see the annual portrait artist of the year awards. When the gallery reopens, I highlight recommend this exhibition the variety of portraits and the talent on display is phenomenal. However, the different portraits on display in the gallery is amazing and a great free gallery to explore portraits in all mediums and from Queen Victoria to Stormzy. My favourite genre of art is photography and I love the variety of photographs in the gallery and the exhibition varies as they have 250,000 plus photographs in their collection. For example, you will find portraits of inspirational men such as Nelson Mandela and iconic photographs of the Beatles and famous photographs of the style icon Steve McQueen.
A few years ago, I also read about the photographer’s gallery in London in the Timeout magazine and if you have an interest in photography I would highly recommend. The new gallery, bookshop and print sales shop is located behind the famous Oxford Street in London. The Sony world photography exhibition is also a great exhibition, and the finalists are displayed in the beautiful galley at Somerset House in London, please the visit the website for me deatils or may even enter for next year!
Art fairs and local art exhibitions
This is a great opportunity to view, experience and support local and up and coming artists. Keep an eye out on social media and visit your local gallery, college or university art exhibition. If you are in London during the summer, the famous Royal academy of arts, summer exhibition is a great opportunity to view art from professionals and amateurs selected from thousands of entries for the exhibition. The gallery is an architectural masterpiece and it is a great opportunity to view a diverse collection of art and genres and all works are available for sale.
I truely believe that making art or taking time to look and appreciate art is really healthy for your mindset and can be very motivational and inspirational. A great example is the project started during the pandemic lockdown by one of Britain’s greatest artists Grayson Perry.
He created a television programme and art project called Grayson’s art club and the general public were encouraged to create art based on a weekly theme. It was a very powerful project and listening to what art meant to different people was very emotional and inspiring. Please visit the website to find links to the different sessions. I also, loved the fact that Grayson selected artists to display their art in his gallery exhibition. For many artists this was their first opportunity to display their art in a gallery, exhibition and their reactions were very emotional.
Please visit the above website and watch the series and enjoy the diversity of art on display by the general public.
Combine a walk in nature and art
You could argue that nature is a form of art, but spending time in nature is good for your soul and mental wellbeing. Please read by blog on the power of nature for wellbeing but I have been a member of the National Trust for many years. My poor kids have been to so many stately homes in the United Kingdon but please visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ to research your local property and many of the sites have a great walking trails and sculptures and public art on display.
I would also highly recommend The Yorkshire sculpture Park, a fantastic walk in nature and the opportunity to 100 plus sculptures outdoors in an exhibition that is constantly changing. You can combine this walk with a visit to the fantastic city of York and afternoon tea in the famous Bettys Cafe team rooms. It might be a good idea to have the cream team and then walk off the calories!
The below image is one of Anthony Gormley’s statue men in his public art display called “Another place” at Crosby beach just 6 miles north of Liverpool city centre, United Kingdom. The below is 1 of 100, cast Iron statues that are life sized and are spread over 2 miles of the beach and take up different positions in the sea. Depending on the time of the day it is a very haunting experience as they can be submerged at different levels in the sea. I have been very fortunate to visit Crosby beach and for me personally I found it very emotional as the statue men look out to the Irish sea. Like so many Irish people, my parents emigrated from Ireland in the 60’s to London and worked hard to provide a secure family foundation for my childhood in a very challenging environment. The picture below for me was very emotive, with the ferry in the background reminds me of my annual holidays to Ireland by coach, train and ferry across the Irish sea.
Anthony Gormley - Crosby beach near Liverpool, United Kingdom.
The above are just a few ideas on how to explore art and enjoy it’s capacity to help with our mental wellbeing. There are numerous scientific articles and evidence that demonstrates that engagement with art as an observer or creator can enhance our mood and reduce stress and anxiety.
I hope you enjoyed this article and I will leave you will the below message from the artist Martin Creed from the Tate gallery London,
@Martin Creed: Tate Modern London
I am also looking for artists to inspire us by writing an article about their art, motivation and to discuss their art for our bi-annual magazine. if you are interested, please contact me.