Dates for your Diary

Tuesday 24th February

Don't forget that a praXis workshop is being held on Tuesday 24th February at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. 'An Insider's Guide to Marketing the Arts to Primary Care Trusts' will be delivered by Paul Southon, Public Health Practitioner from Wolverhampton City PCT. The event runs from 11am to 12.30pm and costs just £5 which includes lunch. It is being run in conjunction with the Black Country Arts & Health Commissioning Partnership, and although priority places will be given to those based in the Black Country and praXis members, the event is open to everyone across the West Midlands. Hurry to book your place - there are only a few spaces left. Contact Debbie Shelley, Education and Outreach Administrator at Wolverhampton Art Gallery on 01902 552194 or email Debra.Shelley@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Monday 2nd March

On the Website

What is Happiness?

creativityteam on behalf of the Black Country Arts & Health Commissioning Partnership are inviting expressions of interest from experienced visual arts providers to deliver an exciting and innovative arts and health commission, targeted at people from across the Black Country. The focus of the commission is to use visual arts as a medium to explore the concept of 'What is Happiness?'

This is the third commission delivered by the Partnership and builds upon the successful delivery of 'Chewing It Over' and 'Move It!' The full brief can be downloaded from:


www.praxisartsandhealth.org.uk/our-projects.html


and the deadline for submission of outline proposals is Friday 13th February.

Let's face it, the bleak winter days are hardly the best time for thinking positively, motivating ourselves and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We are all being bombarded with negative images on a daily basis and life is usually so hectic and demanding, with everyone striving for that elusive 'work-life balance'. Private gyms, dance classes, slimming clubs and beauty therapists do a roaring trade at the beginning of every year, and it's easy to see why. They all capitalise on our desire to change our ways, improve our self esteem and do something new.

Positive thinking is easier said than done. Negative thoughts cannot just be turned into positive ones, as if by magic. However, you can train yourself to develop a 'positive thinking habit' and the best way to do this is to take a pragmatic approach. In other words, if you have a negative thought, try to counter that with a positive action. Here are a few examples:

Negative thought: "I'm too fat"
Positive Action: Do some simple exercise - walk up the stairs, dance to some music or do star jumps (if you're on your own!)

Negative thought: "I'm fed up and feel like my life is in a real rut"
Positive Action: Do something a bit "off the wall", like not taking a brolly out when it's wet, ironing in the back garden, letting your children get as mucky/sticky/full of paint as they like or even skipping down the street (this is hilarious if you're with a friend!). Make play one of your priorities, have fun and try to make ordinary things out of the ordinary once in a while.

Negative thought: "I haven't got enough money."
Positive Action: Spend some quality time (with friends or on your own) getting creative and personalising an old shoe box and then cut a slit in the top. Every time you find yourself with the negative thought, 'fine' yourself by putting a £1 coin into it. You'll be surprised how quickly it adds up, and even if it only signifies you receiving more wealth, it's a step in the right direction

Negative thought: "I've got so much to do - I'll never have time to do it all"
Positive Action: Make a 'To Do' list which is realistic and achievable for that day. Slice into time slots if that helps, but the important thing is that you are not too ambitious with your goals. When you succeed with all your tasks you'll have a tremendous sense of satisfaction.

Although these actions in themselves won't solve your negative thoughts or problems straight away, by doing something you are becoming a positive, action-oriented person. You are then more likely to attract good things into your life, feel happier and reap all sorts of other health benefits. Why not try it now? There's no time like the present!

Promote Move It!

A Resource Pack is now available on the home page of the Move It! dance and health website, www.moveitblackcountry.co.uk so that professionals can easily get the Move It! message across to others in the Arts, Health and Community fields. The pack contains an evaluation report, with a summary of the key impacts and statistics. Also available is a presentation which summarises the report as well as a general press release, which can be tailored to suit the publication for which it is intended.

A set of postcards has also been produced for Move It! To obtain some of these for distribution, please contact info@creativehealthcic.co.uk

We are thrilled to report that Move It! has also been featured in Animated Magazine-the national publication from the Foundation for Community Dance. You can download a copy of the article here: www.moveitblackcountry.co.uk/?p=62

Some follow-up work has also been undertaken recently with some of the young people involved in Move It! This was to get some feedback from them on the project and talk to them about how they could help promote the website, as well as ideas they have about encouraging other young people to visit the site.

Twelve young women from Darlaston Youth Centre, Walsall draw up a list of their top five ideas, which included adding links to other websites that are popular with young people, creating a Move It! page on Facebook and producing 'freebies' with the Move It! website address on. All of the feedback received will contribute to the continued development of the website and future projects.