Abstract
This paper describes the development of two annual lantern parades as case examples of arts in community health, which the authors define as a distinct area of activity operating mainly outside of acute healthcare settings, characterised by the use of participatory arts to promote health. The parades took place in Gateshead 1994–2006 and later in Stockton-on-Tees from 2009 to the present, and the paper reflects on the factors that made for the success of the Gateshead parade and also the problems that led to its demise. It then describes and assesses the Stockton parade, and the benefits and challenges of a workshop ethos of ‘positive regard’ with reference to interview data gathered from adult volunteers and school staff. It considers the potential of this annual ‘tradition’ to shape communal memories that identify with place, and it sets out its aspirations for future programme and research.
Highlights
This paper describes the development of two annual lantern parades as case examples of arts in community health, which the authors define as a distinct area of activity operating mainly outside of acute healthcare settings, characterised by the use of participatory arts to promote health
This paper presents a collaborative reflection between a researcher and an artist who have been deeply embedded within the arts and community work
This paper recounts the development of two annual lantern parades as case examples of arts in community health in Gateshead 1994–2006 and in Stockton-on-Tees 2009 to the present
Summary
The Happy Hearts celebratory lantern parade for the Wrekenton estate in Gateshead became an annual celebration that took place each March from 1994 to 2006. From 1994, a group of adult volunteers from Wrekenton estate who were mainly parents of children attending the estate’s primary school became involved with us in developing lantern parades on a healthy heart theme year on year They were interested in creating this annual event not just to provide some seasonal festivity in the social calendar and because they grasped its potency as a health promotion tool. In our experience of long-term local arts development, lantern processions can provide occasions to view a community in another light, and they can become part of wider programmes of work that connect arts, health education and community development They can suggest small-scale but significant practical instances of how social capital is produced and built upon and offer both a tangible image and narrative of how that ‘capital’. These insights have influenced our approach in a more recent programme of work which we shall describe
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