A community arts organisation that has spent more than a decade using music and creativity to support people experiencing mental illness is expanding to Ipswich, with a new local choir planned to launch in early 2027.
Upbeat Arts representatives Susan and Nicole joined West Bremer Radio’s Get Your Arts Into Gear to announce the expansion and explain how something as simple as singing together for two hours a week can have a profound impact on people’s lives.
Upbeat Arts delivers choirs and creative writing programs across South East Queensland, using participation in the arts as a tool to support recovery from mental illness.
The organisation began in 2014 with funding from Queensland Health as a pilot program examining whether creative activities could make a meaningful difference for people experiencing mental health challenges.
More than a decade later, Susan said the results had been extraordinary.
“I can’t tell you the number of lives that have been changed because of a two-hour choir program each week,” she said.
She said some participants had even told the organisation they would not still be alive without the choir.
For Susan, the power of the program comes from creating a space where participants can temporarily put other pressures aside and concentrate on singing, breathing and connecting with those around them.
“Just two hours of coming along and singing and not thinking about anything else other than being in that space, singing, breathing together, connecting with others, making new friends, making new connections, learning something, achieving something, building self-esteem, building confidence,” she said.
Those benefits, she said, could then carry into other areas of participants’ lives.
Ipswich choir planned for early 2027
Work is already underway to establish the new Ipswich program, which will become Upbeat Arts’ sixth choir.
Nicole said the team was investigating potential venues and meeting with organisations across the local mental health sector ahead of the launch.
The response so far had been overwhelmingly positive.
“There’s nothing like walking into a room and telling people that we’re coming and then [getting an] eruption of applause,” she said.
A major part of the model is creating a welcoming environment outside traditional mental health settings.
Participants don’t have to disclose a diagnosis or explain why they are attending.
Instead, the focus is simply on coming together and participating in the arts.
“Having somewhere that people can go that feels safe, that’s outside of traditional settings where you don’t have to tell anyone about your diagnosis or anything like that,” Nicole said.
The Ipswich choir is expected to launch in late January or early February 2027, depending on final arrangements.
Upbeat Arts is also recruiting a conductor and program leader for the new choir, while community volunteers will begin being recruited in the lead-up to the launch.
Personal experience shows power of singing
Nicole’s connection with the organisation also comes from her own experience of the benefits of community singing.
A social worker with more than 20 years’ experience in the sector, she joined Upbeat Arts after experiencing burnout and other challenges.
She was already singing in a choir herself and had experienced the difference it made to her own wellbeing.
“It really is life-changing when you have connection because it’s not just the singing,” she said.
“We know the singing can lower our cortisol and it can physically make us feel calmer and better in ourselves, but it’s the connections you make. It’s the community.”
After discovering an Upbeat Arts position through the social media channels of artistic colleague Emma Dean, Nicole applied and joined the organisation about a year ago.
She said the role had since grown significantly beyond what she initially expected.
Ipswich becomes sixth choir community
Upbeat Arts’ expansion into Ipswich follows steady growth across Queensland.
The organisation’s original choir was established in Brisbane, followed by Wavell Heights in Brisbane’s north and then the Sunshine Coast.
A Gold Coast choir launched in October last year, followed by Bundaberg in April this year.
Ipswich will become the sixth location when the new choir begins in 2027.
Suzanne credited the organisation’s team with making the expansion possible while maintaining the focus on participants and community.
Annual concert puts members centre stage
Before the Ipswich program launches, Upbeat Arts will bring its existing programs together for its annual celebration concert.
The event gives choir members the opportunity to perform together, while participants in the organisation’s creative writing programs can present their work.
Suzanne said the concert was about much more than putting on a show.
For participants who may never have imagined themselves performing publicly, the experience of arriving at a professional venue, going backstage, getting into performance uniforms and standing alongside the people they have worked with throughout the year could be a significant achievement.
“To see our members shine and be applauded and perform in venues that they never even imagined,” she said.
“For most of our members that was never even a dream. But now they get to do this.”
This year’s concert will be held for the first time at the Thomas Dixon Centre, home of Queensland Ballet, at 2pm on Saturday, October 24.
Tickets are available through the Thomas Dixon Centre.
Community support sought ahead of launch
With the Ipswich choir only months away, Upbeat Arts is hoping to build connections with local organisations, volunteers and residents before its first rehearsal.
The organisation will provide updates about the Ipswich launch through its social media channels and website, upbeatarts.org.au.
Volunteers will also be an important part of the program, with recruitment expected to begin in the coming weeks.
The Upbeat Arts team is expected to return to Get Your Arts Into Gear closer to the Ipswich launch to provide further details about the venue and how local residents can participate.
For a program that started as a Queensland Health-funded pilot in 2014, the arrival of an Ipswich choir represents another step in an expanding movement built around a straightforward idea: the arts can create connection, confidence and community — and sometimes those two hours of singing each week can mean far more than music alone.
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