We are delighted to share that Sampad has been awarded £1,000 funding as part of Healing Arts Birmingham 2026, a city-wide celebration exploring how arts, culture and heritage can support health, wellbeing and social equity.
Led by Birmingham City Council Creative Public Health and the Jameel Arts & Health Lab in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, Healing Arts Birmingham will take place from 22–26 June 2026 and bring together artists, communities, researchers and organisations from across the city and wider West Midlands.
As part of the programme, Sampad will deliver Let’s Make Space, a series of four hyperlocal creative wellbeing sessions taking place across Birmingham during Healing Arts Week.
This project builds on years of Sampad’s work within communities across Birmingham, particularly in areas such as Handsworth and wider North and East Birmingham, where we have seen first-hand the impact that creativity can have in reducing isolation, supporting confidence and creating connection.
Through programmes including Create & Change and our involvement in the BEDLAM Festival, we have developed an approach centred around movement, making and connection, using creativity as a tool for wellbeing in ways that feel culturally relevant, welcoming and accessible.
The funded programme will include:
- Let’s Dance – two gentle and inclusive movement sessions rooted in South Asian music and dance, focused on participation, joy and connection rather than performance. Sessions will take place at a Library and Midlands Arts Centre (MAC).
- Creative Workshops for Wellbeing – relaxed arts workshops supporting mindfulness and self-expression at a trusted community space.
Alongside these community sessions, Sampad is also proud to be part of the official Healing Arts Birmingham launch event at Symphony Hall, delivering a special 15-minute version of Let’s Dance for invited stakeholders and partners.
At the heart of this work is a commitment to reaching people who may be less likely to access traditional arts or wellbeing services. Many of the communities we work alongside experience barriers including social isolation, economic disadvantage, language barriers or stigma around mental health and wellbeing.
By delivering activity in familiar, trusted spaces and framing sessions around creativity, connection and shared experience, we aim to create accessible entry points into wellbeing support that feel open, informal and culturally sensitive.
Participant feedback from previous Sampad wellbeing programmes highlights the impact this work can have. One participant shared:
“The whole process is helping with stress, anxiety and distractions from pain.”
Another reflected:
“Having a common working goal meant I got over some of my insecurities.”
Over the coming months, we will be working with local partners and facilitators to prepare for the week, with sessions taking place across Birmingham in June 2026.
We are excited to be part of a city-wide movement championing the role of creativity in health and wellbeing, and grateful to Healing Arts Birmingham for supporting this work.
This project strongly reflects Sampad’s value of breaking down barriers. By delivering free creative wellbeing sessions in familiar and trusted community spaces, we are creating accessible opportunities for people who may be less likely to engage with traditional arts or wellbeing services. Through creativity, connection and shared experience, Let’s Make Space helps remove barriers around isolation, confidence and stigma, ensuring more people can access the positive impact of arts and culture on wellbeing.
