Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing.

After nine seasons, 65 episodes and more than 6,000 downloads, I'm very grateful that this independent podcast has earned the trust of listeners and artists around the world. Thank you to every guest and listener because this reach has been built entirely through organic growth and without a paid PR machine. I'm now reliably informed that the series is placed well ahead of the majority of new podcasts and with continued growth. So, thank you. To mark this shared achievement, I wanted to close 2025 with something special, a feature on an arts organisation that shares and embodies the values this series supports. The Arts House in Wakefield, also known as the House That Art Built, is a leading example of what is possible, even in the toughest economic climate. This small but long-established arts charity remains steadfast in its mission to champion diversity, inclusion and transformative change. This isn't about tokenism, its core to everything they do. Together in this episode, we'll explore how the arts can help us think more deeply, feel more fully and imagine more generously. The Art House demonstrates what we should all be able to expect when it comes to participating in the arts and to discover multiple benefits that can help shape a better world to live in.

In this feature I had the pleasure to talk to:

Damon Jackson-Waldock, the Co-Executive Director at the Art House.

Amelia Baron, Curator and Program Coordinator at the Art House.

Tonye Ekine, who had a recent solo exhibition at the Art House, When the Dawn Delays, We Rise Anyway. Listed in the Top 40, Rising Stars by the Royal Society of British Artists.

Dr. Victoria Claire, who had a recent solo exhibition at the Art House, Sense of Sculpture. Victoria is a registered blind professional artist in contemporary sculpture. In 2024, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Greater Manchester for her Outstanding Contribution to Public Art.

I hope you are inspired by the truly human centered work and kindness of The Art House. Your host, Paula

All images courtesy of The Art House.

Discover:

The Art House https://the-arthouse.org.uk/

Artist, Tonye Ekine https://www.instagram.com/wherestonye/?hl=en

Tonye Ekine, Season 7 https://canartsaveus.podbean.com/e/seeing-beyond-the-masks-ancient-and-social/

Artist, Dr. Victoria Claire https://www.victoriaclaire-beyondvision.com/

Artist, Amelia Baron https://www.ameliabaron.co.uk/

Production:

Series Audio Editor - Joey Quan.

Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb

Closed Captions are added to all audio interviews in this series.

Read only, text transcripts of every interview, news, reviews and your host, Paula Moore, are available here: https://canartsaveus.com/

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. PLEASE SHARE THIS FREE TO LISTEN SERIES TO HELP MAKE THE ARTS ALL OF OURS.

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing.

Tom Lutz, is a celebrated author, travel photographer, founder of the Los Angeles Review of Books and a distinguished professor at UC Riverside, the University of California. His current book is: 1925 - A Literary Encyclopedia, and this is much more than a reference work. This is a cultural x-ray on 1925, which he identifies as “the most stunning year.” Tom presents 1925 as a collage of literature, art, dance, music, the rise of advertising and more. You can take a curious tour and you'll encounter a wide range of courageous writers and artists. He's also currently working with a Los Angeles-based production company on a television show set in the 1920s. Tom writes, “In 1925, I could see the seeds of virtually every aspect of our cultural life, from art and politics to the fear of environmental collapse and the alarming rise of right-wing authoritarianism.” And this book raises an important question. What can we learn from the creative and social breakthroughs of 1925, when a hundred years later the world still mirrors division, ideology and struggles for equality? As Tom notes, “we have come far and yet not very far at all," but we end with hope. 1925 shows us how positive change was, and still can be achieved - that art is necessary.

Discover Tom Lutz: https://www.tomlutzwriter.com/

Production:

Series Audio Editor - Joey Quan.

Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb

Closed Captions are added to all audio interviews in this series.

Read only, text transcripts of every interview, news, reviews and your host, Paula Moore, are available here: https://canartsaveus.com/

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. PLEASE SHARE THIS FREE TO LISTEN SERIES TO HELP MAKE THE ARTS ALL OF OURS.

Can Art Save Us? – Conversations on Arts, Mental Health, Social Justice & Wellbeing.

Birungi Kawooya is a self-taught British-Ugandan artist, wellbeing researcher, and creative facilitator. Her name, Birungi, means 'Bringer of Good Things,' a name deeply rooted in Ugandan culture. Her art practice is a return to her heritage. Reconnecting with Ugandan culture, artisanal practices, and the natural environment, has been central to her personal recovery. After a marketing career in London left her deeply burnt out, Birungi turned toward art and healing. She began exploring the trauma she experienced as a Black, disabled woman, and as a child growing up in London with working-class roots. Self-care has come through creating art with natural fibres such as palm and banana leaves, embracing afro-somatic movement and dances of the African diaspora, whilst keeping an emphasis on rest and simply being enough. Birungi’s work reminds us that care is cultural, creative, and communal, and that healing practices from the Global Majority have long offered wisdom, balance, and restoration. Her workshops offer safe, healing spaces for Black women and non-binary people. And, as a true 'Bringer of Good Things,' she offers community care through mindfulness rooted in African practices, nurturing healing and connection. Her spaces of cultural rootedness are acts of both resistance and restoration, where Birungi invites you to dream, rest, and heal.

Images courtesy of Birungi Kawooya.

Discover Birungi Kawooya: https://birungikawooyaart.com/home/

Production:

Series Audio Editor - Joey Quan.

Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb

Closed Captions are added to all audio interviews in this series.

Read only, text transcripts of every interview, news, reviews and your host, Paula Moore, are available here: https://canartsaveus.com/

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. PLEASE SHARE THIS FREE TO LISTEN SERIES TO HELP MAKE THE ARTS ALL OF OURS.