Arts and older people in care

50+ activities at Nottingham's Royal Centre Club Encore – Nottingham Playhouse Monthly Singing at Dementia Unit Sound Track to my Life Many Lunch Clubs offering crafts and entertainment Nottingham Circle - providing a programme of

activities that include arts for over 50’s Nottingham Contemporary – viewing together

programme Inside Out of Mind – The University of Nottingham

Projects in Nottingham City

Past ProjectsPast ProjectsDance projects with older people within care settings and with Nottingham's BME communities

Intergenerational projects

Large scale murals featuring older people on health centre hoardings

Artist residencies in care settings

Extensive training for care staff and artists

Mentoring for care staff supported by artists

A series of toolkits developed for care staff

Kate Organ from the Barings Foundation writes:Kate Organ from the Barings Foundation writes:

““Artistic expression can particularly explore and Artistic expression can particularly explore and challenge stereotypes and assumptions, challenge stereotypes and assumptions, revealing the glorious complexities of getting revealing the glorious complexities of getting through life. Older people’s perspectives, as they through life. Older people’s perspectives, as they create new works of art, bring a wealth of create new works of art, bring a wealth of possibilities of subjects, forms and contexts that possibilities of subjects, forms and contexts that can enrich the cultural offer for very many can enrich the cultural offer for very many people”.people”.

The Imagine programme in Nottingham is one of four nationally to be awarded funding as part of Arts Council England and The Baring Foundation’s Arts and older people in care programme

Key consortium partnersKey consortium partnersThe Abbeyfields Society – lead partner

Nottingham City Council (Arts and Adult Services)

City Arts

The University of Nottingham (research and evaluation)

Care Home Partners (17 in total):

Abbeyfields, Eastgate Care, Nottinghamshire Hospice, Nottingham City Homes and Radford Care Group (day care).

Wider Consortium:

Open Arts Forum (OAF) – representing all of the main arts venues in Nottingham City

University of Nottingham – Mixed Reality Lab – supporting work exploring digital technology

The programme aims to: The programme aims to:

Introduce arts practice that challenges, engages, stimulates and enables older people in care to have access to a rich culture offer

 

Define a person centred approach to programming with the voice of older people in care who will become co-commissioners/producers of new work, inform our practice, training and research

Expand the skills, experience and practice of artists, care providers and volunteers to best develop and respond to opportunities for high quality engagement in art

Evaluate outcomes of what is learnt in order to inform and roll out the project to national care providers.

The Imagine programme will consist of artist residencies, commissions and opportunities to see and participate in regular arts activities and events.

It will balance actual visits to and from artists with an exploration of live streaming and facilitated ‘virtual’ visits utilising media and technologies.

 

Programme elements in Year 1:

Armchair Art Gallery

Open Arts Forum – a series of programmes delivered by arts venues in Nottingham City

Nottingham Carnival – creation of a large-scale puppet and a partnership with Men in Sheds

(Age UK Notts) to produce elements for the carnival  

Digital Arts – ipad Engage  

Music commission

Film commission  

Mixed Reality Lab – the digital arts will be explored with residents working in partnership with

Nottingham University

Live streaming - concerts and recitals will be filmed and livestreamed into care settings

Training

The Imagine programme model The Imagine programme model

The vision uses high quality arts programmes to enrich the lives of older people in care, with the potential to change perceptions about care homes and explore how they might fit better into the community

Through consultation, respond to the residents and care staff’s Through consultation, respond to the residents and care staff’s needs and ideasneeds and ideas

Provide opportunities for residents to have choice and control Provide opportunities for residents to have choice and control over their environment and participation in high quality arts and over their environment and participation in high quality arts and cultural activities cultural activities

Continued …Continued … Create an environment that promotes Create an environment that promotes good relationships with family,

partners, friends and staff

Work alongside care staff valuing their expertise and supporting them Work alongside care staff valuing their expertise and supporting them to raise aspirations in relation to arts engagement and cultural to raise aspirations in relation to arts engagement and cultural opportunities for residentsopportunities for residents

Provide training and practical support for care staff, families, Provide training and practical support for care staff, families, volunteers and artists in specialist areas such as dementia, non-verbal volunteers and artists in specialist areas such as dementia, non-verbal communication and other health conditions that may impact on how communication and other health conditions that may impact on how individual’s can access the different strands of the programmeindividual’s can access the different strands of the programme

Support older people in care to seek new opportunities to engage with Support older people in care to seek new opportunities to engage with the programme offer, the wider community and the arts to improve the programme offer, the wider community and the arts to improve cognitive functioning, communication, enjoyment of life, mood, cognitive functioning, communication, enjoyment of life, mood, memory and creative thinkingmemory and creative thinking

Where are we now …Where are we now …Care homes/partners engaged since February 2014:

5 care homes engaged

Men in Sheds - Nottingham AGE UK

The Firs Complex – Abbeyfields (Sycamore House, The Firs Nursing Home and Kenyon Lodge)

12 workshops facilitated with 98 residents over 28.5 hrs. 25 residents took part on more than one occasion in workshop activities

26 men engaged with the programme and 72 women

 

34 participants from arts 34 participants from arts venues, artists and care venues, artists and care staff have attended training staff have attended training and achieved their and achieved their Dementia Friends awardsDementia Friends awards

2,972 people have been 2,972 people have been reached through our reached through our Imagine Facebook PageImagine Facebook Page

ChallengesChallenges

Engaging care managers and conveying the ambitions of the Imagine programme (working directly with staff on the ground)

Slow lead in time – communication with and contacting care home contacts

Difficult to change or challenge the culture of care settings i.e. patterns of the day, many of the care settings don’t have dedicated activity spaces with tables for residents to work around as a group

Continued …Continued … Training – release of care staff to attend training

Devising flexible sessions that engage a full range of residents in meeting their individual needs

The support and capacity of staff for residents on external visits

This programme provides us with opportunities to devise a long term approach in addressing these challenges and build consistency and trust with our partners

SuccessesSuccesses Good level of interest from residents during the

initial consultation stage

Training sessions oversubscribed

Meetings with residents – supporting us to shape the programme and support decision making

Activity co-ordinators commenting that residents are now expecting high quality cultural opportunities

Arts and older people in care

https://www.facebook.com/ImagineartsNottinghamshire

The Abbeyfields Societywww.abbeyfield.com

City Arts: www.city-arts.org.ukhttps://twitter.com/CityArtsNotts

Email Kate Duncan: kate@city-arts.org.uk