DoWell Co-Design Workshop and Lectures Series 2024-2025

The DoWell research group offers an expanded interdisciplinary workshop and lectures series this year to provide the opportunity for colleagues to explore an exciting range of different topics, including practices and approaches to co-designing in various health and care contexts. The format of the monthly sessions is more flexible this year, including online presentations and panel discussions as well as in-person workshops for colleagues to get hands-on experience and get involved in the different approaches to co-design. The workshops aim to provide a forum and time for colleagues to meet, and to foster discussion and cross-faculty collaboration.

Session 4: ‘Well-Maker-Spaces’ – insights to the role of spaces for making in healthier people and planet.

Wednesday 19 March 2025, 3.30-5pm, Business School BS 3.01

Dr Nicholas Gant, University of Brighton

Nick Gant is Co-Director of The Centre for Arts and Wellbeing at The University of Brighton and founder of the Community21 (.org) social and sustainable design research group. His work has helped over 50 communities, industries and governing bodies develop their sustainable development agendas through the application of design and craft practice-based-research. He will demonstrate methodologies that deploy different models for maker-spaces that form new insights into how ‘making is good for us’ and we use making to support healthier people and places. Topical setting for these spaces includes inclusive community planning, circular economy, respite care and improving natural ecosystems.

At DoWell –Design for Health and Wellbeing Research group– we pioneer the use of collaborative creative processes from craft and design to support people’s mental and physical health and to improve products, environments, services and interactions for health and care. We co-design our research into the social and societal aspects of health and wellbeing with the people who will benefit from our studies. Our research contributes to national and international action on mental health, disability, dementia and neurodiversity.