: Health, Wellbeing and Amgueddfa Cymru

Indexical drawings exist all around us!  

Indexical drawings record the interaction between objects, documenting the activity involved.   

Look at this drawing by artist Olafur Eliasson. He created it out at sea in his boat by dipping a ball in black ink. He let it roll across the paper so it could record the waves and movements of the boat across the ocean!   

Why not have a go at your own experimental/indexical drawing? 

Example: 

What you’ll need: a pen, a piece of string, sketchpad.  

1. Tie the piece of string or whatever is available to you to the pencil or pen  

 2. Tie the pen with the same piece of string to a tree branch (top tip: choose a thinner branch that moves around a lot more easily!)  

3. Hold a piece of paper under the pen and set a timer for however long you would like. We used a 10 minute timer.  

4. Watch as the wind blows the tree branch, leaving marks of the branch’s movement and the pattern of the wind on your paper!   

  5. The result, an artwork created by nature!  

The pictures above are from when I had a go at my own experimental/indexical drawing, drawing the movement of a tree in the wind of Storm Corrie!  

You can track the movement of the branches - in moments of stillness where the pen marks are thick, and in high wind where you can see thin lines!  

Have a go and share your drawings with us. You can tag us on Instagram or Facebook, and remember to use #winterofwellbeing

My name is Lowri and I am one of the Freelance Project makers working on the Winter of Wellbeing project. My main role is as part of a small team putting together activity packs for families and young people with the goal of improving wellbeing. But before this project, I had been a stay at home parent for over a decade. 

The last time I was formally employed, it was 2011. A year where it was still acceptable to say ‘talk to the hand’, 3D movies still seemed like a good idea and Flossing was just a dental practice, not a dance. So when I heard about a position that involved working with young people in the heritage sector, which are both my areas of interest, where I could work from home around my family, I couldn't believe my luck! However, after so long away from work, even with a few relevant qualifications and experiences I have, I struggled to know if I had anything of value to offer.  

Thankfully, I did not need to worry too much. My experiences as a parent have been surprisingly essential to the work I have been doing. Even my daughter has become involved in testing and photographing some of the activities which will now be shared with thousands of children around the country. That got me thinking about how valuable our skills as parents can be in the workplace. For example: 

• If you can construct a play kitchen with no instructions and 2 missing screws at 11.30pm on Christmas eve… you can problem solve. 

• If you can negotiate a screaming toddler out of a soft play area… you can hold your own in any meeting. 

• If you have managed to get everyone out of the door on time, with a packed lunch, reading book read, spellings learnt and cupcakes for the charity bake sale (that you will pretend you baked yourself but actually bought on the way to school and bunged in a Tupperware box) and still arrive at school on time…You can project manage. 

I know now, through working on this project, that I do have value outside of the home. The Winter of Wellbeing project has not only given me the opportunity to make a difference in young people's lives, it has given me invaluable work experience, built m

y confidence up and allowed me to contribute financially to my family. And because of the short term nature of the contract, I have managed to dip my toe into the employment pool without the massive worries about childcare in the summer holidays, which is often a barrier for parents returning to work.  

All in all, I have had a ball so far on the project, I have met so many interesting and inspiring people. I have learnt so much in such a short space of time and will come away from it more confident to apply for future jobs I might previously have discarded because I thought I wasn't good enough. Feeling valued outside of the home has added so much to my wellbeing and I am so thankful for that. 

This week (8–13 June) is Carers Week, which aims to recognise the contribution that unpaid carers make to families and communities throughout the UK. Carers Trust estimates this that this unpaid care would cost £530 million per day across the UK, if it had to be provided by health and social care services.

Many carers face financial difficulties, social isolation, or poor health as a result of their caring role. During the pandemic the pressures on carers has increased as many of the services on which they rely, such as community/day centres or respite services, have been closed. In addition, the total number is estimated to have risen by 50% (Carers UK), meaning Wales may now have as many as 600,000 adult and young carers.

Amgueddfa Cymru conducted a survey towards the end of 2020 to ask carers what our museums could offer. You can find out more about why we we want to provide activities or events specifically for carers, how we think museums can help and what led to the survey, in this blog post from last year.

Responses came from both adult and young carers and were fairly consistent in the activities that people were most interested in:

• craft/art activities that people could participate in,
• social time with other carers, and
• information or talks that would be useful to carers.

About two thirds of carers were interested in activities that they could attend on their own, and two thirds in activities they could attend with the person they care for. (One third of respondents were interested in both.) There was interest in both online and in-person events.

We designed a three-month trial of online carer day sessions which started in May this year. Each day, on the first Tuesday of the month, has two sessions: 2.30–3.30pm for all carers of any age, and 5–5.30pm for young carers under 26. If you are a carer and would like to attend one of the sessions on Tuesday 6 July you can book a free ticket here.

So far sessions have included:

• drawing activities (no artistic talent needed),
• why and how to create a playlist for someone you care for,
• the experiences of the Amgueddfa Cymru Producers running LambCam, and
• discussion about our Objects of Comfort initiative.

Objects of Comfort shares stories of what objects bring people solace and comfort, and the programme includes discussion sheets that carers can use with people they care for. Sometimes conversation can dry up or become repetitive if you’re with someone all the time; carers have reported how the sheets have led to some great out-of-the-ordinary discussions. You can find out more about OOC and the discussion sheets here.

We have also created and recruited for a new Support Volunteer role to help us in supporting carers and others in getting involved with Museum events, collections and activities. The volunteers who have applied have some great experience and skills and once their training is completed they will enable us to offer an even better welcome and range of activities for those who would benefit from extra support.

One aspect of the Carer Day sessions that has proved harder than we’d expected is letting people know that they are on. So many of the places where carers would normally spend time have been closed and the organisations who work to support carers have themselves been under much greater pressure during the pandemic. Even if you’re not a carer yourself, you probably know one of the 600,000 people in Wales who are – why not let them know about our Carer Days, and maybe ask if there’s anything you can do to help them during these difficult times? Thank you.

If you’d like to find out more about the Carer Days you can do so here.

If you’d like to tell us what you think about the carer days, even if you haven’t been able to attend one, you can complete an anonymous short survey here.

The Carers Wales report State of Caring 2019 estimated that last year there were 400,000 carers in Wales. The 2011 Census gave the overall figure as 370,000 or 12% of the population, with 30,000 of those carers under the age of 25 and it noted that Wales has the highest proportion of carers under 18 in the UK. These figures all refer to unpaid carers, who are supporting an adult or child with a disability, physical or mental illness, or affected by substance misuse. It does not include those working in paid caring roles.

It is estimated that most of us, three out of five, will become a carer at some point in our lives.

Given these huge numbers and the fact that most of us are, or will be, affected why don’t we hear more about carers? One reason could be that carers are too busy being carers. I have been a carer myself and before joining Amgueddfa Cymru I spent 30 years working in health and social care services, in which time I would estimate that I worked with a few thousand carers. My experience and extensive studies show that many carers experience loneliness and social isolation, poor mental or physical health themselves, and financial pressure, as a result of their caring role.

So what does this mean for Amgueddfa Cymru? One of the goals for our 10-year strategy, due to be published in spring 2021, is that we are relevant to everyone and accessible to everyone; another is a focus on health and wellbeing for all. Our community engagement programme has a very wide range of ways for people who have support needs (due to health, disability or other circumstances) to get involved in museum activities as a visitor or through our volunteering and learning programmes. We certainly welcome carers via these initiatives and there are many carers who have got involved, but as yet we don’t have very much that is specifically designed around the needs of carers.

Looking ahead to next year, the Volunteering team want to provide some opportunities designed specifically for carers. This may involve recruiting volunteers who can support carers in visiting our museums, or, it may mean designing volunteering opportunities for carers that work around caring demands. At the moment we imagine a mix of attendance options – some opportunities for carers to attend or join something on their own, others where carers can do so with the person they provide care for. 

The usual image of carers is of someone older, caring either for an elderly parent or for their spouse or partner. There are many who fit that description, but there are also more young adult or child carers than most people realise and the demands of caring risk an adverse impact on their education, development, and overall quality of life. We are therefore planning to include some opportunities that are specifically aimed at young carers.

People from all communities face caring responsibilities, which may in some cases be made even harder by systemic discrimination and disadvantage. My own experience of caring for my Iraqi grandmother was that the support services available genuinely intended to welcome everyone but were nearly all set up around the habits, lifestyles and life experiences of a White British population. The food and activities offered, and life events discussed (for instance in Reminiscence therapy), held no relevance or comfort for her whatsoever. I’m not suggesting this gives me any insight into another person’s experience, it doesn’t, but it does give an insight into the limitations of a single approach. 

So we know we will need a nuanced and varied approach, and this is where we would like your help. We have created a survey which sets out some of our ideas so far, but we also need to hear from you if you are a carer or have been a carer in the past. If you’re not, we’d be grateful if you could help us by sharing this with carers you know.

The survey launches on Carers Rights Day, 26 November, and on the same day we’re also planning a live online discussion (with a free event ticket for every carer who joins us). You can find the details of how to participate, and also the ‘taster’ sessions on the same day, via this web page: https://museum.wales/getinvolved/carers

Keep Wales Tidy has unveiled this year’s Green Flag Award winners – the international mark of a quality park or green space. 

The National Waterfront, Swansea has achieved the prestigious Green Flag Community Award in recognition of its dedicated volunteer involvement, high environmental standards and commitment to delivering great quality green space.

The Green Flag Community Award is designed to help promote quality green spaces that are accessible to all.  They are a great way to highlight the work that the fabulous volunteers have done, and to show that we are using the museums garden to grow produce that is donated to groups in need across the city. 

GRAFT volunteers taking a break from harvesting at the gardens at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea

Speaking on behalf of the Waterfront Museum’s GRAFT team, Senior Learning, Participation and Interpretation Officer, Zoe Gealy said: “The GRAFT team at The National Waterfront Museum are delighted to have received this Green Flag, it really highlights the fabulous work our amazing volunteers have put in since we started in 2018 and is such a great accolade during a particularly challenging year for us all.  We look forward to many more years of growing and developing our green space and will continue to create learning and volunteering opportunities, as well as donating produce to the fantastic charities across the city who are providing services for those in need”.   

The National Waterfront Museum is one of a family of seven museums and collections centres under the banner of Amgueddfa Cymru  - National Museum of Wales, which offers free entry thanks to the support of the Welsh Government. Together, they house the nation's art, history, heritage and science collections, which will continue to grow so that they can be used and enjoyed by present and future generations.

127 community managed green spaces across the country have met the high standards needed to receive the Green Flag Community Award. This means that Wales still holds a third of the UK’s community Green Flag sites.

The Green Flag Award programme is delivered in Wales by environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy, with support from Welsh Government. Independent green space experts volunteered their time in early autumn to judge applicant sites against eight strict criteria, including biodiversity, cleanliness, environmental management, and community involvement.

Lucy Prisk, Green Flag Coordinator at Keep Wales Tidy said: "The pandemic has shown just how important high-quality parks and green spaces are to our communities. For many of us, they have been a haven on our doorstep, benefitting our health and well-being. The success of National Waterfront Museum in achieving the Green Flag Community Award is a testament to the volunteers who have maintained excellent standards under the most challenging circumstances this year. I’d like to congratulate and thank them all for their outstanding commitment.”

A full list of award winners can be found on the Keep Wales Tidy website www.keepwalestidy.cymru/greenflag