A Weston arts festival scheduled to take place this weekend will now be broadcast online.
The festival was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but organisers have decided to hold it online instead.
Organisers of The Weston Arts + Health Weekender, which marks the formation of University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) and the launch of Culture Weston, have decided to broadcast parts of the festival online for free, starting with a Creative Conversation on Friday.
Details of how to join will be posted at cultureweston.org.uk on the day.
Hosted by Dr Anna Farthing with John McMahon and Alex Coulter, Creative Conversation will focus on how the arts can help support health and alleviate loneliness.
This includes singer songwriter Kate Dimbleby singing for lung health; creative writing with Bob Walton; armchair movement with dance practitioner Vic Hole; breathing exercises for relaxation with drama practitioner Angela Athay-Hunt and easy digital media skills with Nick Sutton.
The team behind the Bubble Schmeisis scheduled to take place at The Stable are instead creating free film shorts, with the first airing at 8pm this Saturday.
Fiona Matthews, Culture Weston director said: “The Weston Arts + Health Weekender is about creating connections between people and shining a light on experiences and resources that have the potential to uplift lives.
“We need this now more than ever.
“The Creative Conversation marks the start of an online community with multiple opportunities to engage in creative dialogue and activities that can help everyone feel supported.”
Anna Farthing, arts programme director for UHBW, added: “Everyone is seeing the value of arts and culture during this period of extraordinary isolation.
“Television, films, radio, music, and books can offer great distraction, but humans are inherently social creatures and those who are alone can sometimes need support to express themselves when no-one else is around.
“Doing, making and moving ourselves through the arts, crafts, dance, drama and creative writing can help us feel that we have some control over our circumstances.”
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