Jeni Allison appointed to lead innovative Taking Art Home project

Art in Healthcare has appointed artist Jeni Allison to lead its new Taking Art Home project. 

The Scottish charity is focused on promoting health and wellbeing through visual art within health, social care and community environments. 

The new initiative, targeted at older adults living in residential care homes across South Lanarkshire as well as people living with Long-Covid throughout Scotland, aims to benefit participants by providing access to quality visual art and building personal confidence through participation in creative workshops.

Jeni is a highly experienced creative educator, artist, and designer who has delivered a number of UK projects aimed at enhancing health and wellbeing. 

This includes her previous work on the Arts and Health programme at Whitworth Art Gallery and Manchester Museum, and her role as coordinator of the Families and Communities programmes at National Galleries of Scotland which supported families visiting the galleries as well as people living with dementia and visual and hearing impairments.

Vanessa Paynton, executive director of Art in Healthcare, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Jeni in her new role as Artist for the Taking Art Home project, an initiative which further supports our aim of enhancing health and wellbeing within health, social care and community environments. 

“She brings a wealth of experience both as an artist and a driving force behind other UK projects where art has played a key role in improving public health.

“This project will provide support for people in Scotland who are living with the relatively new phenomena of Long Covid and will also reach out to older care home residents in South Lanarkshire. 

“We aim to benefit both sets of participants by providing access to quality visual art and fostering social connections between group members, their relatives and other carers to reduce social isolation and improving mental wellbeing. Individuals from both groups are finding it difficult to leave their homes to visit galleries and museums just now so we are pleased to be able to bring art to them, placing it in their homes.”

Jeni is a textile specialist who also brings skills and expertise in experimental drawing, painting, sculpture, natural dying and printmaking. In this new role, her key responsibilities include helping design the Taking Art Home programme in collaboration with participants and the delivery of its creative art workshops over the next year. 

These will be developed and delivered in residential care homes in South Lanarkshire for older people taking part in the programme, and held online for participants living with Long Covid. 

Working alongside Art in Healthcare’s curator, Jeni will also explore ways of lending works from the charity’s art collection to programme participants for use in their homes for up to a year.

The Taking Art Home project is supported by Creative Scotland and being delivered in partnership with Covid:Aid, Luminate and South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture Ltd. The project is funded by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland. 

Graham Reid, equalities and diversity officer at Creative Scotland, said: “Congratulations to Jeni on her appointment to lead the Taking Art Home project, an important initiative which will only benefit from her extensive career experience.  

“Taking part in creative activities can make an invaluable contribution to our health and wellbeing – both physically and mentally. 

“Taking Art Home will create an important opportunity to bring people together, spark imagination and help focus the mind alleviating feelings of anxiety and stress.”