The Songwriting Project
A Creative Journey Through Music
For the past two years, former Armed Forces personnel and family members, alongside community members across North, South, and West Wales, have been coming together through a shared interest in singing, songwriting and playing music. Meeting weekly at the Queensferry Memorial Institute in Shotton, The VC Gallery in Pembroke Dock, and Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff, participants have co-created original songs that explore and express their experiences of mental health and resilience.
Currently, these songs are being professionally recorded, with participants from each group singing and playing instruments on the songs they co-created alongside Re-Live practitioners. The final studio album will be released in Autumn 2025.
"Music is now back in my life. It’s given me something to hold on to."
— Songwriting participant
This project has produced deeply personal songs and provided a creative outlet to support mental health and wellbeing.
"I didn’t think I could write a song, but I managed it. I’ve found my voice again, and I’ve got a smile on my face."
— Songwriting participant
Be Part of This Project – Call for Artists
Re-Live is looking for a budding artist from the Armed Forces community - including those who have served and their family members - who will be commissioned to create the album cover for a songwriting project culminating in an album release in Autumn 2025.
The Opportunity
Commission: The selected artist will receive a £750 fee, or an alternative form of support based on individual circumstances.
Creative brief: The artist will listen to the album and create a new piece of artwork inspired by the music, which will be used as the album cover.
Who Can Apply?
We welcome applications from members of the Armed Forces community - including those who have served and their family members - who are passionate about art. You don’t need to be a professional artist - if you enjoy creating art in any form, we’d love to hear from you. All artistic mediums are welcome, including illustration, painting, graphic design, or mixed media.
How to Apply
Send us:
A short introduction (a few sentences about yourself and your connection to the Armed Forces community).
Examples of your artwork (up to five images or a link to your portfolio. If your files are large, you can send them via Dropbox, WeTransfer, Google Drive, or OneDrive).
Send your submission to:
Project Lead, Karin Diamond | karin@re-live.org.uk
Key Dates
Deadline for applications: 11th April 2025
After the deadline, all three songwriting groups will anonymously review all submitted artwork. Each participant will have one vote, and the artist whose artwork receives the most votes across all three groups will be commissioned to create a new piece of artwork for the album cover.Decision announced: 9th May 2025
Artist commissioned to create a new piece of artwork for the album: 10th May 2025
Final album cover artwork submission deadline: 11th July 2025
Please share this opportunity with anyone who might be interested, we want to reach as many people as possible.
We are grateful to The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and the Arts Council of Wales for their support in making this project possible.
The Songwriting Project is in partnership with the VC Gallery in Pembroke Dock and The Veterans and Community Hub (VC Hub) CIC & Caffinaafi.
Safety and Wellbeing
The safety and wellbeing of the people we work alongside is paramount. We work closely with Veterans NHS Wales who offer guidance and support, and to whom we defer on clinical issues.
Should any veteran or family member require urgent emotional support, the Combat Stress Helpline is a free service open 24 hours per day, 365 days per year:
Free call: 0800 138 1619
Text: 07537 173 683
Email: combat.stress@rethink.org
HeadFIT for Life helps defence people stay mentally fit and on top of their game. At work and at home.