About

Creative Balance is a forward-thinking research initiative exploring mental health and wellbeing for Black People and People of Colour (BPOC) in Scotland's creative industries. What began in December 2023 as community consultations with a 10-person steering group has evolved into Scotland's first comprehensive research project examining how BPOC-led creative spaces can function as protective wellbeing factors.

Through innovative arts-based methodologies, we're working with BPOC creatives and cultural professionals across Scotland to document lived experiences while developing culturally responsive approaches to mental health support.

Our research has identified critical themes around the need for safe BPOC-led spaces, systemic change in creative industries, and the impact of economic pressures on mental health. Under the umbrella of We Are Here Scotland with academic partnership from Glasgow University and support from Creative Scotland, The Baring Foundation, and EMCC/Engender, Creative Balance aims to generate evidence-based recommendations that will transform how Scotland's creative sector supports the mental health and wellbeing of racialised creative communities.

TEAM

  • Loa Pour Mirza (she/her) is a Pluralistic Therapist and Community Engagement Facilitator based in Glasgow. Loa has spent the past 7 years advocating for migrant justice across the grassroots and Third Sector, with a particular focus on housing rights and gender-based violence. She is the founder of The Joon Project under which she hosts creative workshops, reading groups and a mental health practitioner peer support network.

  • Halina Rifai is Co-Lead for Creative Balance, bringing extensive experience in podcast production, communications, and mental health advocacy.

    As Communications Manager for We Are Here Scotland since 2021, she has been instrumental in developing Creative Balance from inception, managing stakeholder relationships and ensuring the research remains community-centred.

    Her acclaimed mental health podcast "A Sonic Hug" has received recommendations from The Times, The Guardian, and the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, directly informing her approach to exploring sensitive wellbeing themes alongside lived experience.

    Her extensive network within Scotland's creative industries - built through founding Podcart and producing for organisations provides crucial connections for community engagement. Her approach combines rigorous research methodology with genuine care for participant wellbeing.

  • Matt Hickman is a creative practitioner and engagement specialist with extensive experience in Scotland's music and cultural sectors.

    Currently serving as Project Co-Lead for Creative Balance, Matt brings deep expertise in community engagement, equality, diversity and inclusion work.

    His previous role as Engagement Lead with Culture Collective saw him designing bespoke support for artists from diverse backgrounds, facilitating peer support groups for POC and LGBTQ+ artists, and leading the 'Our Voices' project which informed the Scottish Government's Culture Strategy.

    Matt is also a musician performing under the name Brownbear. This industry experience, combined with his commitment to anti-racism and community advocacy, shapes his approach to cultural work.

    Matt serves on multiple working groups including Inverclyde's Museum of Human Rights & Slavery and Decolonisation Working Groups, and has been instrumental in curating programmes for Black History Month and Refugee Week festivals across Scotland. His approach centres on creating meaningful support structures for marginalised communities within the creative industries, advocating for artists' rights and wellbeing, and developing resources that enable authentic representation and participation. His work on Creative Balance draws on this extensive experience to explore and address the mental health needs of Black and Global Majority creatives across Scotland.

CONSULTANTS

We have started enlisting the help of key consultants to help shape how we deliver our research. This will cover elements such as accessibility, first language, mental illness and more.

  • Kiana is a multi-disciplinary artist, entrepreneur, inclusion facilitator and educator, and learning to become a professional in multiple healing arts.

    She has 3 degrees spanning across the fields of psychology, film and media, and law.

    Her lived experience and processing of the challenges she faces gives her a unique perspective across intersectional barriers. 

    Her debut music single Sirens came out in 2022, gaining interest both in Radio Scotland and multiple independent radio stations across the UK. She is currently working on her EP and singles, having taken a break to recover from health challenges. 

    She was also named one of the 30under30 most inspirational women in Scotland in 2017 and MDUK campaigner of the year - she is now taking a break from “activism” to redefine what really makes the world a better place on an individual and collective level.

STEERING GROUP + CASE STUDIES

The foundation of Creative Balance was built through the expertise and lived experiences of 14 crucial contributors who shaped our research direction. Our Steering Group comprised 10 members - 8 creatives and 2 healthcare professionals (with creative backgrounds) - all identifying as Black or People of Colour, representing diverse creative disciplines and intersections across Scotland. Selected through an open call-out process, these professionals brought together expertise from visual arts, performing arts, writing, music, film, fashion, dance, and mental health practice. They attended three intensive two-hour sessions between January and February 2024, providing critical input on research design and recommendations while being financially compensated for their time and expertise.

To ensure our research captured as wide a breadth of intersectional experiences as possible within Scotland's BPOC creative communities, we expanded our consultation through four additional individual case studies. These participants were carefully identified from the BPOC creative community and through We Are Here Scotland's existing networks, specifically chosen to represent voices and perspectives that might not have been fully captured in group settings. Together, these 14 individuals provided the foundational insights that identified our three core research themes, with their collective wisdom prioritising BPOC-led spaces as the most urgent need. Their contributions represent not just data points, but the authentic voices of Scotland's racialised creative communities - voices that have historically been excluded from research and policy-making processes. Through their courage in sharing personal experiences of mental health challenges, systemic barriers, and visions for change, they have made this groundbreaking research possible.

PARTNERS & FUNDING

Creative Balance has been made possible through the collaborative support of multiple partners who share our vision for transforming mental health support within Scotland's BPOC creative communities. Our primary funding comes from The Baring Foundation and Creative Scotland, with Creative Scotland providing additional funding in 2025 to support our Phase 1 focus groups. Equal Media and Culture Centre (EMCC) has so far supported our Research Assistant role, demonstrating cross-sector recognition of this work's importance.

Our academic partnership with ally Dr. Cheryl McGeachan at the University of Glasgow's School of Geographical & Earth Sciences provides essential methodological oversight, ensuring our community-led research maintains academic rigour while centring lived experience. Dr. McGeachan's expertise in historical and social geography, mental health research, and arts-based methodologies strengthens our research credibility whilst supporting our commitment to uncovering stories that are often overlooked.

We Are Here Scotland serves as our organisational home, providing infrastructure, community networks, and administrative support while ensuring this research aligns with broader efforts to amplify BPOC creative voices across Scotland. This multi-sector collaboration - spanning arts funding, academic research, equality organisations, and community advocacy - demonstrates the widespread recognition that understanding and supporting the mental health of racialised creatives is essential for creating a truly inclusive creative sector in Scotland.