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Mental health and wellbeing in the arts have gained traction as topics for discussion, but is action being taken as seriously as the conversation?

Thursday 24 August, 2017: The arts, as a sector, has a relatively poor record to date regarding wellbeing and mental health support. Artists often work in isolation in their studio practice, arts administrators are under increasing pressure to deliver, and performance anxiety goes with the territory for many who put their heart on their sleeve and step onto a stage or into a gallery – so why has the sector been so slow to establish a tailored support network?

Almost like a badge of honour, with a “that’s just the way it is” excuse, the sector has traditionally been less willing to acknowledge and discuss issues such as depression, alcohol abuse and suicide.

Read: How creatives can stop drinking themselves to death.

Recently, talk about these topics has finally percolated to the surface, resulting in such significant initiatives as the Arts Wellbeing Collective. However, the question remains: What support mechanisms are being offered to artists and arts professionals facing such mental health and wellness challenges?

Read: A toolkit for a healthier arts sector.

Society at large is relatively well equipped with help networks, but such agencies do not necessarily understand the nuances of the arts and the culture that breeds such problems. That is changing, with the formation of a new Foundation, and a new festival that tackles mental health and wellbeing in the arts head on.

Tailored help for the arts sector

Mental health and the arts are the two pillars of Bridging Hope Charity Foundation (BHCF). It was formed in 2015 by Chinese-born Tian Tian, a global property and investment businesswoman, art patron and philanthropist.

The Foundation’s activities are growing. They started off with a partnership with Lifeline targeting Chinese communities, and in March this year announced a three-year extension to the TWT Creative Precinct in St Leonards – a studio-based cultural precinct committed to supporting local and emerging artists working within the Lower North Shore in Sydney, which the Foundation supports.

TWT Creative Precinct provides 4,500 square meters of heavily subsidised creative spaces. The Foundation also actively collects the work of artists as a real and tangible means of support.

Earlier this month, the Foundation announced the next high profile step in their cause, by stepping up as a Major Supporter of the 21 Biennale of Sydney – the first significant arts sponsorship for the Foundation.

Using the reach and visibility of the Biennale brings greater exposure to topic of wellbeing in the arts. And by supporting individual projects, such as the work of Chinese artist Jun Yang, who embeds his practice within communities, this conversation can go to the heart of where it is needed.

Jun Yang, Things we have in common (2010) installation at St Reinolds Church for the European Cultural Capital Ruhr Courtesy the artist; Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna; Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou; and ShugoArts, Tokyo Photograph: Jun Yang; supplied

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Director BHCF, said ‘At Bridging Hope Charity Foundation, we are inspired to look to an innovative approach in creating culturally relevant mental health initiatives based on considered research and modern technology.

We are passionate about partnering with artists and art institutions to promote art as part of everyday wellbeing.’

The specific focus on wellbeing in the arts comes about because the Foundation ‘believe that essential to a harmonious life is the balance of strong mental health and living within a community that recognises the importance of art,’ said Fitzpatrick.

‘One of the programs we will be running within BHCF is to facilitate discussion between artists and mental health professionals – why we do what we do, what are our drivers and how do we maintain the creativity whilst working towards a more balanced life.’

Partnering with the Biennale came about because the Foundation wants to work with a full range of practitioners, from emerging artists through to through who are working on a global scale, Fitzpatrick said.

‘One of the great things about the Biennale is the opportunity for discussion and potential for cross-cultural communication that helps build understanding and breaks down barriers. In today’s world, where we are more connected than ever, globally we seem to be finding new ways for conflict almost on a daily basis. Art can bring cultures together like no other activity (perhaps with the exception of sport),’ he told ArtsHub.

Mami Kataoka is the first curator from Asia to be appointed as Artistic Director of the Biennale. Her exhibition, titled SUPERPOSITION: Art of Equilibrium and Engagement, will include around 70 artists tackling the contemporary topics of our time.

BHCF has also initiated a partnership with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Art and Design, recognised as one of Australia’s leading art and design schools.

‘The Foundation’s partnership with UNSW is exciting as it complements our philosophy of supporting emerging artists. Nurturing artists in the early stages of their careers is integral in creating healthy and happy communities,’ Fitzpatrick said.

Next month, UNSW will host Australia’s largest mental health festival, The Big Anxiety, presented in association with the Black Dog Institute and more than 25 partners in the cultural, education and health sectors. Bridging Hope Charity Foundation, again, is The Big Anxiety’s Principal Supporter.

Have you ever suffered from performance anxiety, struggled with grace under pressure or teetered at the invisible edge? These are some of the triggers that will be tacked at what is being billed as a festival of arts, science and people that questions and reimagines the state of mental health in the 21st century.

Shaped around five program themes including Awkward Conversations, Lived Experience, Mood Experiments, Neurodiverse-city and Power & Institutions, The Big Anxiety is set to take place from 20 September – 11 November 2017 at venues including Customs House in the city, Riverside House in Parramatta, UNSW Art & Design in Paddington, and partners such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of NSW and the State Library of NSW.
Check out The Big Anxiety for program details.

And in October this year, the Australian Centre for Arts and Health will present their 9 annual conference – the topic this year is on point: The Art of Good Health and Wellbeing: Mental Health and Resilience through the arts.

It will be held at the Art Gallery of NSW from 30 October -1 November. Learn more.

Born in Japan, Hiromi Tango now lives in Australia. Using art as a vehicle to contribute to community and personal wellbeing, Tango often invites others to participate in her practice as in Breaking Cycle (Lizard Tail) where objects and offerings have been woven to create a ‘lizard’s’ tail. Tango explains ‘What if we had the power of the lizard to separate parts of ourselves and leave them behind? Could we heal our trauma and regenerate our minds and hearts?’. Tango’s lizard tail is a metaphor for the physical act of shedding past pain and experiences and pointing to the wondrous curative ability of art.

Hiromi Tango will be featured in Holding a Deep Breath exhibition – a part of The Big Anxiety Festival – channelling an empathic dialogue of breath between plants, humans, and landscape.

August 2017: Not so long ago the Biennale of Sydney was making national headlines for all the wrong reasons. In 2014, a group of artists withdrew from the art fair amid fierce protests when it was revealed a subsidiary of Transfield, the event’s major partner, held contracts with the government to operate its contentious offshore refugee detention centres.

Biennale chairman Luca Belgiorno-Nettis — the Transfield director whose family has a long history of philanthropy — was forced to stand down and the event severed ties with the company. To say it was an inconvenience for then artistic director Juliana Engberg would be to redefine understatement. It was a tough lesson for the biennale, and it has learned in recent years to choose its friends carefully.

I had the pleasure a few weeks back of attending a lunch hosted by not-for-profit group Bridging Hope Charity Foundation, which was announcing a major partnership with the biennale. The foundation focuses on supporting arts projects and mental health initiatives. In a country where mental health affects one in five people — arguably that figure is higher in the arts; numerous studies have established a firm link between creativity and mental illness — it is heartening to see a cultural partnership working towards mutually positive ends. Warms the ole cockles, it does. The 20th Biennale of Sydney, under the stewardship of new artistic director Mami Kataoka, will open in March next year.

Bridging Hope Charity Foundation’s support of the Biennale – Asia Pacific’s leading contemporary art event – is the first major arts sponsorship for the Foundation.

Bridging Hope Charity Foundation’s Founder, Tina Tian said: “I am delighted to support Australia’s longest running and most respected contemporary art event. The Biennale of Sydney embodies my passion for artistic excellence. As a Major Foundation supporting the Biennale, which includes the presentation of the 21st Biennale of Sydney in 2018, I believe that we will enable the community to experience a truly vibrant multicultural event in one of the most spectacular cities in the world. That, in turn, leads to a vibrant, healthy society.”

Celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2018, the 21st Biennale of Sydney will be presented free of charge over 12 weeks (16 March – 11 June 2018) at multiple locations throughout Sydney. It will feature major new commissions and recent work by contemporary artists from Australia and around the world.

Mami Kataoka, the first curator from Asia to be appointed as Artistic Director of the Biennale announced recently that the 21st edition in 2018 will be titled, ‘SUPERPOSITION: Art of Equilibrium and Engagement’. She has also revealed the names of 37 artists from an anticipated list of 70 artists to be included in the 21st Biennale.

Biennale of Sydney Director and CEO, Jo-Anne Birnie-Danzker said: “The 21st Biennale of Sydney ‘SUPERPOSITION: Art of Equilibrium and Engagement’ promises to be a significant experience for observing the world and encouraging us to consider how all things in this world interact with each other in a state of equilibrium and engagement. We are grateful for the support of Bridging Hope Charity Foundation and acknowledge that our shared value of enriching the community through creativity is perfectly aligned with the 2018 exhibition.”

Artist: Jun Yang
Artwork: Things we have in common, 2010
lanterns, beer tables and benches Installation view (2010) at St. Reinold’s Church, Dortmund for the European Cultural Capital Ruhr Courtesy the artist; Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna; Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou; and ShugoArts, Tokyo
Photograph: Jun Yang

1 August 2017: Why would a charitable foundation have an art collection? Having run a global property and investment business with headquarters in Beijing and Sydney, Tina Tian has dedicated the past several years to founding and setting up the Bridging Hope Charity Foundation (BHCF).

Focusing on encouraging wellbeing, BHCF has a significant and enduring impact in the Foundation’s two main pillars, mental health and the arts. A concerted art collection is housed in the BHCF office – supporting artists and rotating the artworks is part of the cultural vibrancy and healthy community which BHCF actively supports and provides. The growing collection includes artworks from some of Australasia’s most significant artists whose work deals with wellbeing and mental health. Our first feature is on the work of Judy Millar:

Judy Millar is one of New Zealand’s most famous artists, having represented New Zealand in the 2009 Venice Biennale. This dynamic work represented Millar’s curiosity about the edge of physical and mental states, where the line exists, and the relationship between our mental and physical states. The artist says, ‘We live our lives constantly juggling these worlds but they can seem pretty contradictory. All the most important moments of our lives – falling in love, losing somebody, death – are times where we encounter this edge’.

Artwork Courtesy Sullivan + Strumpf Fine Art

29 June 2017 – With ABS Census 2016 data showing that our country is becoming increasingly culturally diverse, Lifeline is committed to meeting the needs of modern Australia in the years ahead.

Lifeline Australia CEO Pete Shmigel said that – from exploring the feasibility of a Chinese-language helpline to recruiting multicultural Crisis Supporters – the national charity needs to do more to evolve as the nation does.

“The growing national suicide emergency in Australia does not discriminate and has had devastating impacts on friends and families of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities,” Mr Shmigel said.

While we as a country have made great inroads in promoting help-seeking over the past 50 years, we need to be make sure this message is being heard by all Australians: no matter who you are or where you’re from, you don’t have to struggle through life’s challenges alone.

This message is particularly relevant when we consider the growth of Indian (from 6.0% to 8.3%) and Chinese-born (from 5.6% to 7.4%) Australians over the past five years, for who helplines have not formed an essential part of their societal fabric.

“It’s about not just about making crisis support more accessible for non-English speakers, but also more sensitive to the different cultures, attitudes and outlooks that make up our rich and diverse community.”

“We currently receive more than 20,000 calls each year from people who share that English is not their first language. And, while about 15 per of our Crisis Supporters speak a language other than English at home – and stem from more than 35 countries – we need to take steps to ensure our make-up reflects that of the community.”

For non-English speakers, Lifeline’s 24/7 caring and non-judgement support can only currently be accessed through the free Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS). However, Mr Shmigel said a recent three-year partnership with the Bridging Hope Charity Foundation would help explore opportunities to provide better services to Chinese people.

For more information click here

27 May 2017: Lifeline service has partnered with the Bridging Hope Charity Foundation, to try to better meet the needs of the Chinese community.

The $450,000 three-year partnership will include a feasibility study into providing services in Mandarin and Cantonese.

Although callers can currently contact Lifeline using a free interpreter service, this can create difficulties for crisis support workers, as they try to build rapport with callers.

“We’re hoping that if someone is at that point of crisis, that they’ll be able to pick up the phone and speak to someone in their first language,” Bridging Hope Director Stephen Fitzpatrick said.

To read the full article click here

17 May 2017 – Bridging Hope Charity Foundation has announced a three-year partnership with Lifeline with the aim of developing a crisis support service for the Chinese community within Australia. The partnership was formally announced at a lunch event hosted by Lifeline CEO Pete Shmigel at the Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney on Wednesday 17 May, with The Hon. Gladys Berejiklian MP, Premier of New South Wales in conversation with Mike Munro AM.

The Bridging Hope Charity Foundation’s partnership, valued at $450,000 over three years, will initially support a specific Mandarin and Cantonese feasibility study in 2017 to understand how Lifeline can better connect with the Chinese community in Australia. The long-term goal over the three-year partnership is to provide Australian-based Chinese communities with more accessible crisis support and suicide prevention services.

Tina Tian, Founder and Director of the Bridging Hope Charity Foundation added: “This partnership is the outcome of the joint desires of our Foundation and Lifeline to support the growth of their important crisis services for the greater good of our communities.”

John Brogden, Chairman of Lifeline commented: “Thank you to the Bridging Hope Charity Foundation for supporting our national charity to reach more people who may be struggling with life’s challenges. As well as being about service development, this partnership sends a strong message to community members that – regardless of your age, background or ethnicity – if you are going through tough times or are thinking about suicide, you should never have to be alone.

Bridging Hope Charity Foundation will also support Lifeline’s establishment, research and promotion of a Mandarin and Cantonese Crisis Support Service through its connections with the Chinese community and business leaders.

Last year, Lifeline received over 1 million calls from people in crisis across Australia, providing highly-skilled and heart-warming support to people in their darkest moments. More than 3,000 Australians died by suicide in 2016, representing double the national road toll.

For non-English speakers, Lifeline’s 24/7 crisis support services can be accessed through the free Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 131 450. The caller should then ask to talk to Lifeline on 13 11 14 in the language required.