Reducing Loneliness
Building connected communities in the West of England through culture and creativity
Launching in March 2026, our new creative programme, All Together Now, uses arts, culture and creativity to address loneliness and strengthen social connections.
Loneliness is a natural human emotion that we can all experience from time to time, but when it becomes long-term, it can impact our health, well-being and even life expectancy. Loneliness can touch every corner of society, and All Together Now will work in collaboration with individuals, local organisations & services, to help communities move from a feeling of loneliness and isolation, to a feeling of community and belonging.
Evidence shows that being creative supports well–being, confidence and social connection, and loneliness is best addressed when we work together.
All Together Now demonstrates place-based working at its most effective: cross-sector innovators uniting to confront societal challenges and create lasting change. It’s thanks to National Lottery players that the Arts Council can invest in programmes like this across the country – and we hope this is just the start of a more inclusive future here in the West of England.”
Phil Gabby, Area Director, Arts Council England South West
The impact we make
Creating connected communities
Loneliness and social isolation are increasingly recognised as significant social and public health challenges, affecting people of all ages and backgrounds.
Research has idenitifed that there are specific geographic communities and specific communities across the West of England who are at higher risk of loneliness, including older people from the global majority, and disabled young people. All Together Now will work intensively with these demographics to improve their wellbeing and boost community cohesion.
These individuals who are more likely to experience loneliness or social isolation or who face barriers to accessing creative activity, will benefit from exciting, regular, welcoming activity, held in non-clinical social spaces.
Success for the programme will result in:
- People feeling more connected and less isolated
- Communities having access to regular creative or cultural activity, ranging from visual arts to film, craft, music, dance and drama
- Stronger collaboration between culture, health and care sectors
- Evidence and learning that supports future investment and scale
New £1.1 million creative programme launches to address loneliness in the West of England
New £1.1 million creative programme launches to address loneliness in the West of England
Launching with events across the region throughout the week of the 23rd March – including a musical bus in the Mendips – All Together Now is a new initiative bringing arts, culture and creativity to ‘forgotten postcodes’ and communities across the West of England.
How we will deliver this work
St Monica Trust will lead the project, working with Bristol Beacon, on behalf of the West of England Impact Alliance.
The West of England Impact Alliance is a cross-sector network of over 50 organisations, spanning multiple sectors, working together to address loneliness.
To ensure the All Together Now programme is place-based and community-led, it will be working closely with ‘Enablers’, which are organisations with a deep knowledge of how loneliness affects their own communities. Specifically, these are:
- Charfield – CVS South Gloucestershire
- Disabled Young People – WECIL
- Global Majority Older People – Black South West Network
- Mendip Villages – the three Parish Councils of Churchill, Banwell, and Winscombe and Sandford
- Somer Valley – 3SG
- Stockwood –Bristol Charities
All Together Now is also supported by Arts Council England, the West of England Combined Authority, The Grateful Society, Sirona Care & Health, as well as local partners, artists, facilitators and community organisations.
Get involved
Investing in arts across the region: Creative Practitioners & Arts Organisations
Join us and become a delivery partner for All Together Now! Whatever your art form, if you are a creative practitioner or organisation with bold, imaginative ideas for creative activity, we would love to work with you, to harness your ideas and expertise. Plans for activity must demonstrate how creativity can build lasting social connections, and be centered around our six communities of interest, detailed below.
Online applications to become one of our creative practitioners will open in May 2026 and will need to respond the findings of consultation undertaken with communities. We will be particularly interested to hear from artists and organisations with existing links to the six communities, to ensure the work is sustainable beyond the life of All Together Now.
Grants awarded will range in size and will be assessed by a panel of community representatives.
Volunteers
Volunteers will also play a vital role within the All Together Now programme. You don’t have to be musical or creative to be involved, we welcome everyone. Volunteering might look like supporting a regular art group in a community centre, or working on a one-day festival at Bristol Beacon. Whatever your interest and your availability, there will be something for you. Our volunteering programme will go live in May 2026. Keep an eye on this page for updates.
Trainee creative artists
In September 2026 will also be launching our trainee programme, supporting six creative artists each year. This programme is for individuals passionate about connecting communities through the creative arts, and will develop skills and confidence in supporting people to express themselves through the arts through training, mentoring and placements. Keep an eye on this page for updates.
Contact us
Please get in touch with our Community team to find out more about how you can work with us.
Email alltogethernow@bristolbeacon.org
Creative Health & Wellbeing
Creative Health & Wellbeing
Projects, groups and events that use music to support people’s physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing at every stage of life.
Care Experienced Young People
Care Experienced Young People
An award-winning programme empowering care-experienced young people and their carers through transformative music-making.
More community programmes
More community programmes
Our community programmes – Creative Health & Wellbeing, Care Experienced Young People, Music & Disability, Festivals & Events – bring people together through the power of music.