We’re delighted to announce that Harbour House has been selected as one of just 10 arts centres across the UK to join the inaugural Creative Health Network for Arts Centres.
The new network, led by Future Arts Centres and Battersea Arts Centre, brings together arts centres across the country to share learning, strengthen leadership practice and explore how arts centres can play a more significant role within local and regional health systems.
For Harbour House, this is an exciting opportunity to build on the work we are already doing across creativity, community and wellbeing, while learning from organisations working in this field across the UK.
Creativity, community and wellbeing
Creative health is an important part of our work. As a small charitable arts organisation in Kingsbridge, we believe that access to creativity, culture and opportunities to connect with others can make a meaningful contribution to people’s health and wellbeing.
Our programme brings people together through visual art, creative workshops, movement and other participatory activity, alongside partnerships with local organisations and community groups.
This work is particularly important in a rural community, where opportunities to engage with arts and culture can play a valuable role in reducing isolation, supporting connection and creating spaces for people to participate and feel part of their community.
Being part of the Creative Health Network will give us the chance to look more closely at the impact of this work and consider how we can continue to develop it.
Learning alongside arts centres across the UK
The 2026–27 cohort brings together ten arts centres with a wide range of experience in creative health:
- Southbank Centre, London
- Brixton House, London
- artsdepot, London
- The Art House, Wakefield
- Heywood Civic, Greater Manchester
- Cast, Doncaster
- Lincoln Arts Centre, Lincoln
- Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham
- Harbour House, Kingsbridge, Devon
- The Spring Arts & Heritage Centre, Havant, Hampshire
Together, the organisations represent a broad range of creative health practice, including theatre, visual arts, dance, music, poetry, writing, photography, printmaking, film and participatory arts.
The network will explore areas including evaluation, social prescribing, co-creation, partnerships with the NHS and other health systems, funding and investment, and how arts centres can strengthen the evidence and advocacy around creative health.
For us, it is a valuable opportunity to share what we have learned through our work locally, while gaining new ideas and approaches from organisations working in very different contexts.
Building on what we already do
We’re proud that Harbour House has been selected alongside organisations with such an impressive range of creative health experience.
The network isn’t about starting from scratch. Instead, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on the work already happening at Harbour House, strengthen our approach and think about how we can develop our role within the wider creative health landscape.
It also gives us a chance to champion the contribution that small, independent arts organisations can make.
Arts centres are uniquely placed to bring together creativity, culture, community engagement and trusted local relationships. In a place like Kingsbridge, our role extends beyond presenting exhibitions: we are a space where people can come together, participate, learn, make and connect.
Over the coming months, we’ll be learning alongside the other members of the cohort and sharing some of those reflections with our audiences.
We’re excited to see what we can learn, what we can contribute and how the network can help us continue to make the case for the important role that creativity and culture play in healthy, connected communities.
We’re incredibly grateful to Future Arts Centres and Battersea Arts Centre for creating this opportunity, and to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Linbury Trust and Mayor of London for supporting the network.
We can’t wait to get started.