Findings from a UK-wide pilot project show that museums and heritage organisations including the Scottish Maritime Museum can play a powerful role in improving community health and wellbeing through collaborative creative projects.
The Evaluation Report into the 18-month Creative Health programme Working Together shows that, with training, museums and heritage organisations can become long-term community partners in public health.
The Scottish Maritime Museum was the only Scotland-based organisation amongst six diverse museum and heritage partners across the UK taking part in the project which was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and jointly delivered by the Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance (CHWA) and the Group for Education in Museums (GEM).
The Museum was selected for the pilot, which ran from 2023 to Autumn 2025, for the team’s commitment to working with underserved communities.
Key aims of Working Together were to support project partners in embedding Creative Health practice, building staff skills and forming lasting partnerships with organisations responding to health needs and inequalities in their local areas.
The Journey Project at the Scottish Maritime Museum, developed in partnership with Barnardo’s and participatory artist Ellie Swanston, supported young people affected by trauma, substance misuse and poor mental health, families with children with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and young refugees.
The Journey Project included family wellbeing sessions, co-produced creative activities using the Museum’s national maritime heritage and art collections, community exhibitions and volunteering opportunities. Outcomes also included the creation of new sensory bags and activity boxes for children with additional needs, which are now available at the Museum.
Participants reported improved mental wellbeing, increased confidence, reduced social anxiety and stronger social connections. Families who previously felt excluded said they now see the Museum as a place of comfort, creativity and belonging.
Working Together also included organisation-wide training in trauma-informed practice, safeguarding and mental health awareness with five Museum staff members trained as mental health first aiders.
Claire Jones, Learning, Engagement and Volunteer Manager at the Scottish Maritime Museum, explains:
Supporting community health and wellbeing is at the heart of the Museum’s role.
“Participating in Working Together, in partnership with Barnardo’s and Ellie Swanston, was transformative. It enabled us to expand our creative health work, reach underserved individuals and groups and begin developing as a long-term public health partner in North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire.
“The training and peer support also gave us the confidence to make a major shift in adopting co-production, enabling individuals and groups to join us in shaping exhibitions and activities collaboratively.
“Evaluation showed this led to more meaningful engagement and stronger community ownership so we have expanded our co-produced activities addressing social isolation and mental health. The impact has already widened to include deeper engagement and longer stays amongst our visitors and increased interest from schools and local organisations.
“To maintain the momentum, we now have a Community Engagement core role at the Museum and are seeking funding to strengthen current partnerships and develop new ones.
“Overall, The Journey Project marks a lasting cultural shift for the Scottish Maritime Museum, placing care, inclusion and collaboration at our core.”
GEM and CHWA, membership organisations with a long history of collaboration, support museum and heritage learning professionals and Creative Health workers respectively.
The legacy of Working Together will include sector-wide Creative Health training across museums, heritage and cultural organisations.
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Issued on behalf of the Scottish Maritime Museum by
Joanna Harrison, Mobile: 07884 187404
