The Art of Facilitation: GM YPs Creative Mental Health Coalition

Free | In-person | For all experience levels
We’re bringing together creative facilitators to explore the vital role facilitation plays in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people - and how we can better articulate, evidence, and professionalise this work.

This session is for anyone facilitating creative activity with young people, whether you’re early in your practice or highly experienced.
About the session

The session is inspired by a provocation from Dr Sally Marlow (King’s College London):

We already have strong research showing that creative health improves mental and general health. What needs to change is the public and professional perception of the people running these sessions.

Together, we’ll explore the often unseen skills of facilitation — including managing risk, uncertainty, vulnerability, group dynamics, and emotional processing within creative spaces.

We’ll be joined by mental health practitioners, whose reflections on what happens inside creative group spaces will help ground the discussion in lived practice.
What we’ll cover

Facilitation practice
Hear from facilitators about their work, how they developed their skills, and what they’ve learned along the way.

Professional identity & perception
Open discussion on how we can better share, evidence, and celebrate the role of the creative facilitator — and shift perceptions in line with Sally Marlow’s provocation.

Support, training & development
If time allows, we’ll explore what meaningful training, supervision, and support should look like for facilitators working in mental health contexts.

Who should attend?

Creative facilitators (arts, culture, community, youth work)

All levels of experience are welcome.

Artists working with young people

Mental health practitioners interested in creative approaches

Anyone interested in creative health and facilitation practice
When and Where:

📅 Date: 25 February
🕝 Time: 2:30–4:30pm
📍 Location: Manchester City Art Gallery, Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3JL
🎟 Cost: Free

42nd Street is a Manchester Mental Health Charity providing confidential, creative, young-person centred and rights based mental health and emotional wellbeing support to ages 13-25.
The Horsfall is our creative space which exists so young people can explore creativity for their mental health, wellbeing, confidence, sense of self and belonging.

We know the transformational impact of the creative process and sharing artwork - both for young artists and society as a whole.

Nurturing creative connection is fundamental to deeper understanding of the relationship between mental health and creativity for young people.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher The Horsfall / 42nd Street