COVID-19: Arts and creative resources for older people (and anyone else) in isolation
From ‘COVID-19: Arts and creative resources for older people (and anyone else) in isolation’ published by The Baring Foundation on Thursday 19th March 2020.
Exploring 3D Virtual Tour of Still Undead: Popular Culture in Britain Beyond the Bauhaus at Nottingham Contemporary
Over the years people have told us countless times about much of a difference being creative has made to them – through the social contacts made as well as the intrinsic pleasure of making or performing. A report we did with the Campaign to End Loneliness back in 2012 highlighted the already high levels of loneliness among older people. This is going to be a particularly hard time.
However, the wonderful world of creative ageing is already alive with ideas about how we can still bring the joy of arts and creativity into care homes and to older people isolated at home.
We are collecting them here as we see them on the basis that the more signposting there is, the better. We know there will be lots more going on that we haven’t come across yet – if you’re doing something or know of someone who is, let us know and we’ll keep adding to this.
The Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance
The CHWA, which serves the whole arts and health sector, is putting together a page of resources related to the COVID-19 crisis.
This includes a growing list of digital creative resources which care homes might be able to use or adapt for residents, as well as resources and advice for freelancers and arts organisations.
MARCH Network: Creative isolation resources
The MARCH mental health research network has a page of resources to creative activities which might be useful for care homes too.
Resources to support creative activity in care homes
Treasury of Arts Activities for Older People
Compiled by Liz Postlethwaite with our support, the Treasury is a free compilation of 50 arts activities (all sorts from dance to craft) for use in settings with older people, including care homes.
It’s available to download from our website.
Nottingham City Arts: the Armchair Gallery app
The Armchair Gallery is an app developed by Nottingham City Arts which brings world-class heritage, museum and gallery collections to you. It is especially designed for people living with dementia.
It includes artworks and artefacts from the collections of Chatsworth House, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, The Lowry, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Pitt Rivers Museum, Mr Straw’s House & Newstead Abbey, and lots of creative activities alongside them.
It includes instructions for carers for doing tried-and-tested creative activities.
You can download the app here.
V21 Artspace
On a similar theme, V21 Artspace have made virtual tours of hundred plus art exhibitions to explore virtually, which could provide starting points for creativity activities.
Age Cymru: cARTrefu activity cards for arts in care homes
Lots of simple activities – visual arts, performing arts, words and music – designed to be done without expert knowledge or specialist equipment.
The activities were developed by artists involved in Age Cymru’s Artist in Residence in Care Homes scheme – cARTrefu – which has been hugely successful.
Normally a pack of cards, they are also available as pdfs here.
Social Care Institute for Excellence: Arts in Care Homes resource bank
SCIE have a resource bank on their website with ideas and tips for care homes on doing creative activities with residents, covering everything from jewellery making to puppetry to drawing and painting. It also includes advice on how to do it without any external input or facilitation and lots of simple ideas.
Luminate@Home
A new programme of short online films demonstrating creative activities developed by the creative ageing development agency for Scotland, Luminate, and Scottish Care
The activities will be presented by professional artists and will feature different arts forms including crafts, poetry, music and dance, aimed people living in their own homes, as well as care home staff who are looking for ideas of activities for residents.
Films will be posted every Tuesday and Friday at 2pm (starting 24 March) on Luminate’s website and Facebook page, and will be on its Vimeo and YouTube channels. Films will be left online so you can access them at any time.
Upswing: Homemade Circus!
Simple circus games and exercises designed for care homes and to be led by staff. No experience or circus skills necessary.
This handbook was developed as part of the Hull City of Culture celebrations and funded by the Foundation.
Small Things: The Storybox Project
The Storybox Project is a fun and inclusive programme of activities for people living with dementia, which use creativity and imagination as a starting point. Intended for group settings like care homes but also for families at home and with accessible recipe-style ideas. They are currently able to offer it for free thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Fund.
Crafts Council: Dementia-friendly craft with a garden theme
Dementia friendly craft ideas designed by the Crafts Council with the Garden Museum.
Creative Minds: Art Activity Boxes
Art Activity Boxes from Creative Minds contain everything you need to run an art session, including plans, equipment and materials. They also deliver, depending on your location. £35 a box. Creative Minds artists normally work in settings like care homes and day centres so activities will be tailored to suit.
National Museums Liverpool: dementia-friendly My House of Memories app
The My House of Memories app allows you to explore objects from the past and share memories together. It can be used by anyone, but has been designed for, and with, people living with dementia and their carers.
You need a tablet for the app – but there are also ideas on the website for creating Memory Trees and Memory boxes non-digitally.
Fermynwoods Contemporary Arts: Isolation Moments
Online art workshops, prompts and tutorials from Northamptonshire based Fermynwoods.
The first workshop is from artist Jessica Harby who runs classes in ‘anti-drawing’ where the goal is to draw badly! As an example, the first idea is called Drawing Sounds and encourages you to draw in respond to sound clips. Audio equipment and basic drawing equipment like coloured pencils and paper needed only.
Ready-made schemes to take part in
Good ideas are popping up all over the place – some aimed at older people like Arts in Care Homes and others for all age groups.
Arts in Care Homes: Pen Pal scheme and Weekly Postcard Challenge for children
Arts in Care Homes run the National Day for Arts in Care Homes, the first of which we funded with the Rayne Foundation last year.
They are in the process of developing some new resources to provide ideas, tips and inspiration for care home staff to run activities with residents.
Only Connect – become an email Pen Pal
Linking up care homes with pen pal partners. Get in touch if you are a care provider who wants to receive mail or someone who would like to send messages to care homes.
Weekly Postcard Challenge for children/schools
School children and their parents will be encouraged to produce postcards on a range of creative themes, which will be sent to nominated care homes. All sorts of things welcome and possible, including writing letters, postcards, poems, artwork and/or video messages.
For both, contact @artsincarehomes or alison@artsincarehomes.org.uk
64 Million Artists: Create to Connect
For two weeks from 23 March, everyday creativity advocates 64 Million Artists are running Create to Connect offering to send fun daily creative challenges for people to do and share. They are meant for anyone who is at home at the moment.
Musical get-togethers – various!
Join in with the The Sofa Singers – a weekly online choir run by vocal leader, James Sills. Tuesdays, 7.30pm GMT.
There are opera live-streams from the Met in New York.
The Singing for Better Breathing Resource includes ideas for warm-ups and familiar songs to sing along to on Youtube. The programme was designed with singers with long-term health conditions in mind by the Sidney De Haan Research Centre, part of Canterbury Christ Church University.
Local organisations like the Weekday Wow Factor in Glasgow are setting up an online disco which can be accessed via Skype. Follow them on Facebook to enquire.
Stay at Home Literary Festival
Running from 27th March to 11th April. More information to come.