Impact

After university, she began pursuing a career as an orchestral player but was diagnosed with a serious illness, which meant she had to take four years off to recover. During this time, she relocated from the hustle and bustle of London to a more tranquil life in rural Wales.

This life-changing experience led her to meet Haz, her self-confessed ’musical soul mate’ who introduced her to Music in Hospitals & Care. Since 2023, Marged has been sharing live music in hospitals, care homes and children’s wards with us.

From February to July 2024, our music and visual arts pilot funded by Arts Council Wales took place at Ty Llidiard, an inpatient NHS Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend. Ty Llidiard was one of the mental health settings that took part in our Music for Mental Health and Wellbeing project in 2023, which also involved Haz and Marged, where it became clear that the positive impact of live music alongside visual arts activities should be explored further.

Young people were invited to shape their own experience by choosing the music, contributing to session plans, and engaging at their own pace. This participatory approach helped to build a sense of empowerment and ownership, especially among those who might otherwise struggle with verbal or social interaction.

Working with both musicians and a visual artist to bring a variety of music with opportunities to paint, draw, use chalks and create with air-dry clay offered patients a calming and inclusive experience that helped to distract from an often busy and hectic ward environment. It created space for relaxation, self-expression, and non-verbal engagement.

Marged explains: “Ty Llidiard was a great project to be part of, we loved it, but it was one of the more challenging settings that we worked in. A lot of the health and care settings you get feedback from either the staff or the patients themselves, you get to know what they like, but actually teenagers and young people tend to be less communicative.

We found that going in every week helped us to start building up a little bit of trust and they started to open up. You got to know them a little bit through the various requests – whether it was for Eminem, Led Zeppelin or Taylor Swift.”

A staff member at Ty Llidiard said, “These are some of the most ill young people in South Wales, they often won’t take part in activities as they just find them overwhelming really, but here they were coming back week after week.”

Marged adds, “We felt that throughout the project, we got a better idea of what was needed and what was working. Towards the end of the project, they decided to paint a mural in the garden. It was great because it helped to enhance their space, and every single week they were adding to it. There were no limitations on what they could do. That seemed to work really well artistically. There were lots of positives along the way and working with the visual artist Chris was just amazing.”

By equipping staff with the tools and resources to support creative engagement, the project points to a new way forward in using live music and visual arts to support young people’s mental health.