LivCare.

About Us

A space to celebrate best practice, reflect and share

Liverpool Art of Care (LivCare) has been developed by a team of researchers* based at the University of Liverpool. We have worked in partnership with representatives from arts and cultural organisations across the Liverpool City Region (LCR), as well as members of the community who regularly take part in arts and cultural activities. LivCare builds on findings from the COVID-19 CARE: Culture and the Arts, from Restriction to Enhancement: Protecting Mental Health in the Liverpool City Region research project, funded by UKRI AHRC. It responds to the needs identified in conversations with arts and cultural partners to coordinate local initiatives and support sustainable arts in health partnerships. 

More about LivCare

Our Aims and Ambitions

LivCare has been developed as a space to celebrate and showcase best practice in arts in health provision. This digital resource champions the work of arts organisations, creative practitioners, and health and social care providers in Liverpool who work in partnership providing courses, activities, projects, and programmes to support the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities, particularly those who are vulnerable or marginalised. It was developed in the specific context of COVID-19 to showcase innovation in digital delivery and the crucial and unique role that arts organisations played in supporting their communities at this time. The ambition is to inform future policy, widen provision and foster cross-sectoral co-operation, as well as to provide a valuable prototype for broader regional and national scale-up.

Our community

LivCare provides a space for reflection and conversation about key issues that concern stakeholders working and participating in arts in health partnerships. Here our expert contributors from local arts organisations, healthcare settings, policy-maker and service user communities share their reflections on key questions in the area, including:

      • Value: How do we know arts in health partnerships work?
      • Collaboration: How are arts in health partnerships set up, developed and maintained?
      • Access: How can I get involved?
      • Training: What resources and support are available to facilitate this work?

Meet our team

We are an interdisciplinary team of researchers based at the University of Liverpool drawing on expertise in Public Health, English Literature, Media and Communication and Politics. Our collective research has been supported by Higher Education Innovation Funding via the University of Liverpool’s Partnership Recovery and Resilience Fund.

Dr Tonya Anisimovich

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Department of English

Dr Wendy Asquith

Web Designer & Research Fellow

Department of Politics/English

Professor Ekaterina Balabanova

Project Co-Investigator

Department of Communication and Media

Professor Josie Billington

Principal Investigator

Department of English

Richard Snowden-Leak

Project Research Assistant

Department of English

Dr Joanne Worsley

Research Fellow

Department of Public Health, Policy & Systems

Dr Naomi Adam

graduate Impact Assistant

Department of English