NATIONAL DAY OF ARTS IN CARE HOMES #AICH2022

SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2022

The National Activity Providers Association (NAPA) is delighted to launch this year’s National Day of Arts in Care Homes #AICH2022. An annual event which takes place on 24 September each year, it is an opportunity to celebrate the inspiring work using the arts and creativity that is taking place to support health and wellbeing in care settings.

Care providers and their partners including arts and cultural organisations, will be joining in by organising an event on the day, and sharing pictures and stories about their event, or arts activities they have delivered during 2022.

This year we want to help widen the conversation beyond the UK, so we are inviting care settings and people with an interest in creative ageing in countries around the world to join our celebrations. We hope to be able to share stories and exchange experiences about the health and wellbeing benefits of arts for those receiving care provision, staff teams, relatives and friends, and help create a global network. Arts and Aging Day Canada was inspired by the UK National Day of Arts in Care Homes, and we also want to help spread awareness of the benefits of such initiatives.

“Through Arts and Aging Day Canada, we can reach older adults and their friends, family members and care partners living in the community and in retirement and long-term care homes all across the country.”

Dr Kate Dupuis, The Sheridan Centre for Elder Research, Ontario, Canada

Care Home Twinning

We will launch our Care Home Twinning project on the day, connecting care settings in the UK to share their lived experience and work on creative projects together. We are inviting staff teams and artists to jointly develop creative resources and discuss ways of overcoming current barriers to bring more arts engagement into care settings. In the run-up, we are twinning care settings with partners in Canada, France and Mexico to work on arts projects which they will be sharing with us on the day. The Care Home Twinning Project has been developed in response to our Arts in Every Care Home consultation with the care sector (2021). The Baring Foundation, who commissioned and funded the consultation, will be sharing their follow-up report, which will consider how the arts and care sectors can work better together to deliver personalised access to culture and creativity for all care home residents.

Creating a field of flowers #FIELDOFFLOWERS

NAPA and Drawing Life are inviting care settings to create a field of flowers by drawing, painting, photographing or making models of real or imagined flowers and sharing pictures of their artwork online using #AICH2022 #FieldofFlowers. Our lead image is a sunflower, which is also the national flower of Ukraine. We will be working together to plant a #FieldofFlowers to blossom on 24 September.

Being creative together

NAPA is delighted to partner with leading arts organisations specialising in creating meaningful arts engagement for people living with dementia to deliver free online participatory events. Sessions will be led by organisations including Forget-me-not Chorus and The Blair Academy, and care setting will be joining in to help us kick-off the celebrations during the week commencing 19 September.

Forget-me-not Chorus has been organising joy-filled singing sessions for people with all forms of dementia, as well as the families, friends and professional staff looking after them for over 10 years. Today, over 1,000 people – from millennials to centenarians – participate in their singing sessions every week.

“As a charity who reaches people from Wales to New Zealand, we can’t wait to bring some joy to all who will take part in this special day.”

Kate Woolveridge, Artistic Director Forget-me-not Chorus

The Blair Academy works with care homes, day centres, hostels and schools, helping people boost their health and happiness through hip-hop dance. CEO Charlie Blair developed a programme drawing from personal experiences as a hip-hop dancer, homeless teen and carer for older people, testing ideas with her Nanny Doreen in the living room and speaking to care homes in her local area.

“We’ve seen, first hand, the joy and sense of belonging that the Arts can bring. Time to eradicate fears and stereotypes and be creative in our approaches.“

Charlie Blair, Founder & CEO The Blair Academy

Getting Involved

Care settings and arts organisations can join in by following these simple steps:

• Reading our Get Involved pack for ideas and inspiration
• Planning an event with their care setting community
• Registering the event on our website
• Joining our online sessions during the week of 19 September
• Sharing pictures and information with us on 24 September on Twitter using @Artsincarehomes #AICH2022
• Taking part in our #FieldofFlowers campaign by sharing images of flowers they have made on Twitter: @Artsincarehomes and Facebook: @artsincarenapa also using #FieldofFlowers

We encourage anyone unable to organise an event for the day, to join in by telling us about their cultural and creative activities delivered in or with care settings this year on Twitter during the week of Monday 19 September using #AICH2022.

— Ends

Notes to editors:

For further information please contact:
Alison Teader, Programme Director
Email: alison@artsincarehomes.org.uk
Telephone: 07538 497607
Twitter: @Artsincarehomes Facebook: @artsincarenapa
#AICH2022

About Arts in Care Homes:

Arts in Care Homes and the National Day of Arts in Care Homes is an initiative by NAPA and funded for five years by The Baring Foundation and The Rayne Foundation. Now in its fourth year, it acts as a central hub for delivery of arts and creative activities in care homes with sector research, user friendly resources and ‘How To’ guides for care staff. www.artsincarehomes.org.uk

NAPA is a membership organisation and charity, it is a leader in field promoting the importance of meaningful activities in care homes and the need for training and support for care staff. www.napa-activities.co.uk/

Baring Foundation – From 2010-2019 the Baring Foundation’s Arts programme focused on supporting participatory arts with people over the age of 60, including people living in care homes. The Foundation continues to support Arts in Care Homes Day. www.baringfoundation.org.uk

The Rayne Foundation – Addresses entrenched social issues through the arts, health, wellbeing, and education. www.raynefoundation.org.uk

A Manager’s Guide to Arts in Care Homes

NAPA unveils innovative resource empowering care home managers in arts engagement

The National Activity Providers Association (NAPA) proudly presents a ground-breaking resource designed for care home managers seeking to enhance arts activities and creative engagement within care homes.

Alison Teader, the Programme Director of NAPA’s Arts in Care Homes initiative, collaborated with three visionary care home managers actively involved in arts-related work. Together, they crafted a user-friendly resource to inform and inspire managers and activity and care teams. Valuable insights from arts organisations and experienced individuals further enriched the content.

“At NAPA, we believe in creating environments that celebrate creativity, enhance wellbeing, and elevate the quality of care provided. This resource is a testament to the importance of meaningful creative activities in care homes and the invaluable contributions of dedicated care and activity teams.”

Hilary Woodhead, Executive Director NAPA

Funded by The Baring Foundation, this resource was developed in response to a recommendation in the Baring Foundation’s ‘Every Care Home A Creative Home’ report (2022). The report advocates for a systematic approach involving various stakeholders, aligning with residents, staff, relatives, care providers, regulators, social care and arts funders, training providers, arts organisations, and the local community.

“We have known for a long time that whether or not a care home resident has access to creative opportunities is entirely a lottery and therefore inequitable. A systems approach could help change this but requires the input of all stakeholders, including the regulator. We hope this new guide for managers is useful for those homes taking their first steps into developing an arts offer and supports them to demonstrate how this offer supports the quality of care they provide.”

David Cutler, Director of The Baring Foundation

Key Features of the Resource:

The resource emphasises how evidence of arts engagement can bolster the six key evidence categories for Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections.
 
It addresses potential barriers to developing arts in care homes and provides ideas and inspiration based on successful care home projects and activities.
 
The resource launch, marked by an online event, featured insights from the three registered managers – Shona Bradbury, Fatma Makalo, and Marlene Kelly, who played a pivotal role in its development.

“Art is not limited to paint and a brush; it involves anything creative that expresses your imagination. Our art activities provide opportunities to learn something new and encourage a sense of achievement and pride. We believe the atmosphere created by art helped us achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating by CQC.”

Shona Bradbury, Registered Manager, Appleby House Care Home

Access the full report and summary version here.

— Ends

Notes to editors:

For further information please contact:
Alison Teader, Programme Director
Email: alison@artsincarehomes.org.uk
Telephone: 07538 497607
Twitter: @Artsincarehomes Facebook: @artsincarenapa

About Arts in Care Homes:

Arts in Care Homes and the National Day of Arts in Care Homes is an initiative by NAPA and funded for five years by The Baring Foundation and The Rayne Foundation. Now in the fifth year, it acts as a central hub for delivery of arts and creative activities in care homes with sector research, user friendly resources and ‘How To’ guides for care staff. www.artsincarehomes.org.uk

NAPA is a membership organisation and charity, it is a leader in field promoting the importance of meaningful activities in care homes and the need for training and support for care staff. www.napa-activities.co.uk

Baring Foundation – From 2010-2019 the Baring Foundation’s Arts programme focused on supporting participatory arts with people over the age of 60, including people living in care homes. The Foundation continues to support Arts in Care Homes Day. www.baringfoundation.org.uk

 

NATIONAL DAY OF ARTS IN CARE HOMES #AICH2023

SUNDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2023

The National Activity Providers Association (NAPA) is delighted to launch this year’s National Day of Arts in Care Homes #AICH2023. An annual event which takes place on 24 September each year, it is an opportunity to celebrate the inspiring work with the arts and creativity that is taking place to support health and wellbeing in care settings.

NAPA will lead a week-long celebration of arts and creativity in care provision, starting on Monday 18 September and culminating with The National Day of Arts in Care Homes on Sunday 24 September. Care providers and their partners including arts and cultural organisations, are invited to join in by organising events to celebrate the day, and sharing pictures and stories with us on social media about their event or creative activities they have delivered during 2023. NAPA will be delivering a free online programme of events and activities during the week.

Arts and Aging Day Canada which also takes place on the 24 September was inspired by the National Day of Arts in Care Homes, and this year organisations in Australia and France are also planning events to mark the day. This exciting news highlights the growing interest internationally in the benefits of creative health in later life.

” We are very proud of what has been achieved so far during the NAPA Arts in Care Homes programme and we are looking forward to the fifth annual National Day of Arts in Care Homes on 24 September. It has been wonderful to watch the support for this event growing each year and to be able to highlight the wealth of good work being done involving a wide range of arts in care settings. This year we also hope to identify what is most needed to develop this work going forward, in order to make arts in every care home a reality.”

Hilary Woodhead Executive Director, NAPA

#Reflections

The theme of the fifth year of the current Arts in Care Homes programme, is ‘Reflections’. As the National Day falls on a Sunday this year, it is an opportunity to remember how the arts and creativity can be used in gentle, calm and reflective ways including on a one-to one basis and within end of life and palliative care.

We will also be reflecting on learning gained over the last five years and considering how we can build on it to embed the arts in care provision and support the wellbeing of residents and care workers. It has and continues to be a very challenging time for the care sector. However, throughout this period there has been an enormous commitment from care staff teams and partners to developing meaningful creative engagement through the arts.

“ Access to culture is a human right, as much when living in a care home as anywhere else. We know, however, that there are many care homes that have little in the way of creative opportunities for residents. At the Baring Foundation we are advocating for a systems approach to arts in care to make them more widely available. National Arts in Care Homes Day does a fantastic job each year of showcasing excellent practice – we hope that this year’s event will encourage more homes to get creative on the Day and all year round.”

David Cutler, The Baring Foundation

#DrawingOnMemories

Our creative challenge this year, developed with Drawing Life, is to create drawings and other artwork inspired by happy memories. The arts and creativity can connect and re-connect us with the good times in our lives, as well us helping us during difficult ones. We encourage everyone participating to share their memory drawings, poems and related artwork with us via social media on the day.

Online Programme: Being creative together
NAPA is delighted to partner with leading arts organisations including Living Words, an arts and literature charity and Interact Stroke Support, a charity dedicated to supporting stroke recovery by using professional actors to deliver readings in hospital and online. They will be delivering free online participatory events on the Reflections theme, which will include wellbeing activities for staff workers and simple ideas for developing everyday creativity in care settings.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

To organise and share an event on the day:

• Read our Get Involved pack for ideas and inspiration
• Plan an event involving care setting communities anytime 18-24 September
• Register your event on our website
• Join in our online events during the week of 18 September
• Share pictures and stories with us throughout the week of 18 September on Twitter using @Artsincarehomes #AICH2023
• Take part in our creative challenge #DrawingOnMemories and share memories in the form of drawings, poems, music and performances on Twitter using @Artsincarehomes and Facebook @artsincarenapa

Tell us what you have been doing:

Anyone unable to organise an event for the day, can still join in by telling us about their cultural and creative activities delivered in or with care settings in 2023 on Twitter during the week commencing 18 September using #AICH2023.

— Ends

Notes to editors:

For further information please contact:
Alison Teader, Programme Director
Email: alison@artsincarehomes.org.uk
Telephone: 07538 497607
Twitter: @Artsincarehomes Facebook: @artsincarenapa
#AICH2023

About Arts in Care Homes:

Arts in Care Homes and the National Day of Arts in Care Homes is an initiative by NAPA and funded for five years by The Baring Foundation and The Rayne Foundation. Now in the fifth year, it acts as a central hub for delivery of arts and creative activities in care homes with sector research, user friendly resources and ‘How To’ guides for care staff. www.artsincarehomes.org.uk

NAPA is a membership organisation and charity, it is a leader in field promoting the importance of meaningful activities in care homes and the need for training and support for care staff. www.napa-activities.co.uk

Baring Foundation – From 2010-2019 the Baring Foundation’s Arts programme focused on supporting participatory arts with people over the age of 60, including people living in care homes. The Foundation continues to support Arts in Care Homes Day. www.baringfoundation.org.uk

The Rayne Foundation – Addresses entrenched social issues through the arts, health, wellbeing, and education. www.raynefoundation.org.uk

How care providers have used the arts to stay connected during Covid-19

Arts in Care Homes, an initiative by the National Activity Providers Association (NAPA), announces the National Day of Arts in Care Homes on 24 September 2020 and this year’s theme #CreativeCommunities.

We will be celebrating the contribution arts and creative participation play in enhancing quality of life for people living in care homes. We are also celebrating the carers, activity specialists, creative and cultural organisations who make it possible. We are inviting everyone to share stories about arts and creative activities in the care home environment and, where there is capacity, for care homes to plan and deliver activities on the day.

Across the UK and throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, which has had such a tragic and devastating impact on residents and staff in the care home community, carers and activity specialists have continued to run creative and cultural programmes with their residents. As lockdown eases, care home residents and staff must not be forgotten, and we want to use this opportunity to share their positive stories.

“We know how badly Covid-19 has affected those who live and work in care homes. The National Day of Arts in Care Homes provides us with an ideal opportunity to share examples of how the arts have enabled us to stay connected with loved ones and members of our local communities…”

Hilary Woodhead, NAPA Executive Director

“Creative participation can contribute to a longer, happier, healthier life. It can help to amplify the voices of older people and enhance their contribution to society. It can help to overcome negative stereotypes and reduce our fear of ageing.”

Older and Wiser? Creative Aging in the UK 2010 – 2019*

#CreativeCommunities

We believe arts and creativity can enhance health and happiness for residents and staff, it helps counteract social isolation and is a focus outside of day-to-day care. It also supports good mental health and enables residents to continue to develop skills throughout their lives. Through helping to establish creative communities both in individual care homes and as a network across the UK, we believe we can help deliver the benefits participation in the arts offers to the care sector.

Our partners will include:

The Southbank Centre will collaborate with a Nightingale Hammerson care home for a one-off edition of Everyday Heroes; a public outdoor art and poetry exhibition on the Southbank celebrating the contribution of keyworkers during the Covid-19 crisis. This is part of an on-going partnership for Art By Post. Nightingale House will also be holding their own on-site exhibition curated by and for their residents, to celebrate their ‘everyday heroes’ through poetry and photography.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk
www.nightingalehammerson.org

The National Archives will share an online resource to engage older people and care home residents. Photographs from their collection have been selected to inspire reminiscence, spark conversation and encourage participation in creative follow-up activities. Involvement can be individual or in a group, and activities will be accessible and guidance on how to maximise engagement will be included. www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Inspirational projects that will be shared on the day include:

Creative Writing
The Poetry Takeaway will be working with three Sunrise Senior Living and Gracewell care homes providing online training and their unique ‘takeaway’ service for ten nominated residents and staff
from one home. Participants will choose their own preferred ingredients in the form of details and memories about a person or place. The Poetry Takeaway poets will deliver the poems in the form of videos and wrapped takeaway poems will be sent by post. www.thepoetrytakeaway.co.uk
www.sunriseseniorliving.com

Visual Arts
Creative Paths CIC, a Nottingham based not for profit social enterprise, will launch Creating spaces to Connect. The resource pack will feature easy makes and ideas to help transform care home environments and grow creative communities.
www.creativepaths.org.uk

Music
Intergenerational Music Making, a pioneer of intergenerational music projects, will hold an exciting celebration event on the day. This will be the culmination of creative sessions promoting wellbeing, community and compassion held over the summer.
www.imm-music.com

— Ends

Notes to editors:

For further information please contact:
Alison Teader, Project Manager
Email: alison@artsincarehomes.org.uk
Telephone: 07538 497607
Twitter: @Artsincarehomes
#AICH2020 #CreativeCommunities

About Arts in Care Homes:

Arts in Care Homes and the National Day of Arts in Care Homes is an initiative by the National Activity Providers Association (NAPA) and funded for five years by The Baring Foundation and The Rayne Foundation. It is now in its second year. It acts as a central hub for delivery of arts and creative activities in care homes with user friendly resources to help delivery of arts and creative activities and designing projects for care homes. www.artsincarehomes.org.uk

Arts in Care Homes Only Connect Pen Pals
Only Connect Pen Pals was adapted at the beginning of March to become an online project. Messages of support, including letters, postcards, artwork and/or poems are sent to care homes by email. We have connected over 200 care homes with volunteers including artists, arts organisations, school children and families. www.artsincarehomes.org.uk/aboutonlyconnect/

“Being a pen pal and writing letters has made me feel useful again” Resident Sunrise Seniors Living

“A warm thanks to the children for making us all smile. We have so much appreciated the lovely art and kind words through this time.” Care Home Manager, Bromley

NAPA is a membership organisation and charity, and a leader in the field, promoting the importance of meaningful activities in care homes and the need for training and support for care staff. www.napa-activities.co.uk

Baring Foundation – From 2010-2019 the Baring Foundation’s Arts programme focused on supporting participatory arts with people over the age of 60, including people living in care homes. The Foundation continues to support Arts in Care Homes Day. www.baringfoundation.org.uk

*Older and Wiser? Creative Aging in the UK 2010 – 2019 Dr Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt Kings College London
https://cdn.baringfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/KCBaringReport_A4_2019_ForWeb.pdf

The Rayne Foundation addresses entrenched social issues through the arts, health, wellbeing, and education. www.raynefoundation.org.uk