Creativity in Care Settings with Art Explora
At Art Explora our mission is to share arts and culture with everyone – locally, nationally and internationally. We are based in the UK and France, and run a range programmes that break down the barriers people face to accessing arts and culture in innovative ways.
In the UK we’ve had a very busy year! Our mobile museum truck is currently touring works from the Tate collection around the country, where our brilliant facilitators engage school and community groups with fun, educational activities. We have also launched our interactive learning experience ‘Time Odyssey’ in three museums in the north of England, which has been well received by children and teachers alike. Meanwhile, in London we are in the process of expanding our community programme. Having introduced ‘Mini Art Explorers’ (aimed at 2-5 year olds) to libraries and community hubs in 2023, we are looking to bring musicians into care settings in 2024.
We feel really strongly about the power of creativity in care settings, which is explored extensively in the Baring Foundation’s 2011 report ‘Ageing Artfully’, an extract from which reads – ‘Engaging with arts activities increases confidence and improves self-esteem, and for older adults living with dementia, participatory art can help improve cognitive functioning, communication, pleasure, enjoyment of life, memory and creative thinking’.
Lots of our work takes place in care settings, and for Creativity and Wellbeing Week, we’ve decided to spotlight our flagship community programme – ‘Arts at Home’ (AaH), which brings art to older people whilst tackling loneliness and isolation. Following its success in France, we adopted the AaH model in the UK, and now run 3-4 sessions a week in 7 care homes across London. Our team of dedicated volunteers choose artworks in advance of each session to present to the residents, and though a small amount of preparation is required, prior knowledge of art history is not. Instead the sessions are participatory and informal, with a focus on communication and connection. Often an artwork will spark conversation about something else entirely, with residents and volunteers reminiscing about past experiences, sharing stories and finding common ground. A manager from one care setting reflected:
“The sessions bring people together to share ideas, promote discussion and learning. Residents continue to discuss the artworks long after the session has ended and look forward to the talks and social aspect”
AaH has proved beneficial not just for the residents of care settings, but for the volunteers involved who have gained confidence, communication skills and knowledge of art history. Most importantly though perhaps, leading AaH sessions has supported people in feeling a sense of fulfilment and connection with their local communities. Speaking about her experience, an AaH volunteer noted:
“Regular time spent being present in the moment, away from a computer screen, and with other people, making a positive difference in my community has improved my sense of wellbeing, and I think of it now as part of my essential self care”
Supporting and upskilling our wonderful volunteers is really important to us. We recently ran our first dementia training led by arts and dementia specialist Emily Bird, and are always open to organising bespoke trainings if there is something volunteers particularly want to learn or better understand.
Another organisation that we feel is doing really exciting work in the field of creativity and wellbeing is Hospital Rooms, a charity that brings art and creative programmes into inpatient mental health hospitals. It was founded by artist Tim A Shaw and curator Niamh White after they visited a close friend who had been admitted to a mental health hospital. They were shocked to see how cold and clinical the environment was, and felt that they had the skills and community to transform these spaces with art.
We came across Hospital Rooms because they applied to, then won our European Award with their ‘Digital Art School’ project! For the project, which is ongoing, the charity collaborates with artists working across different mediums to create digital workshops and tutorials for people using mental health services. Boxes of materials are delivered to mental health service users on the programme, and the outcomes, which you can view in their online gallery (https://hospital-rooms.com/digital-art-school-gallery) are amazing!
Art Explora’s European Award is open to all European non-profit cultural organisations, and supports new projects that encourage new forms of audience engagement and participation across all art forms. Applications for the 2024 Award open on May 13th and the details can be found on our website.
