This website is intended as resource for anyone interested in setting up or running arts activities in care homes. It contains a wealth of information on arts activities in care homes, divided into different categories, grouped by art form or by the type of resource eg publication, website etc.
Online toolkits are practical guides on a specific subject, containing useful information and all the elements or ‘tools’ needed to do a specific activity. The toolkit section of this website has lots of toolkits for different art forms. Have a look through this section and see which subjects interest you most. You can either read the toolkits online by clicking on the specific link or print out copies for easier reference.
One way to use the website is to search via a specific art form. Are you interested in setting up a poetry group in your care home? If so go to The Arts section, select Creative Writing and you will find lots of different information on creative writing and poetry in care homes, in different formats.
Do you prefer to access information by watching films? Go to the website section where there are lots of examples of short films about art projects to inspire you.
If you are designing an art project for a care home, you may find the research section useful. This contains different evaluation studies, articles and publications looking at the benefits of arts activities in care settings. Go to this section if you want to find supporting evidence to demonstrate why your project is of value.
Some useful resources for getting started are:
The Treasury of Art Activities for Older People This contains 50 arts activities designed for older people, including step by step instructions on a wide range of arts activities involving dance, drama, poetry and visual arts.
The Treasury of Arts Activities for Older People (Vol 2) This contains 52 weekly arts ideas designed by artists in partnership with care settings. You can also find these activities here – it could be a nice thing to start doing at the beginning of a new year, findinding time to do one activity every week.
Creative Care Homes This resource was developed by Painting in Hospitals and is a practical A-Z guide of art activities
Apps are really handy tools to have on your mobile phone or tablet to help engage with residents in care homes in creative ways. See the Apps section for suggestions of particularly useful ones.
If you need more help, please contact us