“What if we considered a healthy imagination vital to our health?”

Rob Hopkins, environmentalist and author (2020)

 

Spring 2020 brought dramatic change to our way of life, across the globe. Lockdowns and physical distancing have become part of a new normal as we navigate our way through a global pandemic. Our physical and mental wellbeing can no longer be taken for granted. They need to be supported and nurtured.
We need alternatives to our present situation- whether those alternatives are pure escapism, a different perspective or the space to imagine a healthy future. Images, music, video clips, stories and poetry all offer us this space, whether engaging with the offerings of others or creating for ourself. They are a tonic for the heightened anxiety that we now live with. They are a tonic for our imagination.
Believing so wholeheartedly in the importance of this tonic, we have an entire Department dedicated to studying it in MTU Crawford – Arts in Health & Education. The arts can support us. They engage our senses, connect us to others, develop our capacity to slow down and notice the world around us. They can enable us to explore alternatives and inspire us to take action. Now more than ever we need to nurture our imagination, our capacity to picture alternatives.

The Creativity Tonic is a hub for many of the creative and mindful resources available to support and engage us. From creative activities to sustain the five ways to wellbeing, creative contributions from staff and alumni, to exhibitions and links to other websites which will stimulate your creativity. Drink deeply and share the tonic with others.

 

– Louise Foott
Department Head
MTU Crawford – Arts in Health & Education