"Dementia Friendly" arts Emma Nutland, 26 January 2014 - What makes art “dementia friendly” - Where does it happen? - Moving away from linear structures and reminiscent models - How to facilitate being in the moment Talked about the importance of touch and opportunity as a person with dementia to give to some one or something else, pet therapy. Often all touch from care workers is ‘practical’- put arm in sleeve, stand up, not necessarily the touch that we all need as humans. We talked about the experience of bringing a donkey into a care home. Shifting the energy of care homes and daily routines and listening to what’s in the room rather than going in with a particular motive or desirable outcome. Looking at artists such as Steven Anderson who works with Arts in Hospital in Glasgow. Looking at the differences culturally, here in the UK how to we treat our elderly and people with cognitive difficulties? How do we support their families and friends in adapting? What's happening in countries such as China? Radical ‘care home villages’ in Holland that allow freedom and choice to their residents. They build a home together that is in line with their previous residences and find interests and activities that the residents want to do. There is a shop, hairdressers, cafe all on site and everybody that works there knows the residents well and also has had specialist training. Very interesting article: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/aug/27/dementia-village-residents-have-fun Here in the UK we spoke about our care systems, David Cameron's plans but the very little action that is happening. In contrast to the care homes in Holland, our care home staff do not need a standardised training to work with people with dementia, they learn on the job. The care workers are often over worked, under paid and under staffed but owners of some care homes are making a killing with the amount they charge. How has care of the elderly turned into such a business? Where is the person - centred holistic care and how can art make a difference? As an artist (EN) that worked as artist in residence at a carehome for 3 months I had the luxury of time to spend listening, asorbing what was present and make little differences and responses with the residents. Care workers often don’t get the chance to have a meaningful exchange. Festivals to look out for with art about ageing or with the elderly- Illuminate, Capital H Festival, Health and Wellbeing Week (2-6th June), Art for Ageing As artists, we have the skills to be able to tap into and tease out the creativeness in people with dementia, as study’s show that the creative section of the brain often comes to the forefront when affected with the disease, hence why it should be utilised and celebrated not oppressed! www.ageofcreativity.co.uk The use of music and song in triggering memories but also storing new pieces of information. What if you could write useful songs to help remember loved ones names or routines to help you stay independent longer? We discussed, especially in relation to marital couples, the importance of sharing activities and new experiences so new memories are made and not also harking back to another time or how some partners refer to their partner with dementia “someone other”. There has been choirs where couples go together and art programmes such as meet me Moma where the Moma is closed off to the general public and instead couples where one or both have dementia go and explore and discuss the modern art. Opening up opportunites to see and be with the person and not someone ‘suffering with dementia’. http://www.moma.org/meetme/ Jane Fonda Ted talk about her genration and younger now having these three phases of life, Childhood, Adulthood, and Retirement and how not to reglect how important to not neglect that third phase. Claire from London Bubble talked about projects happening such as Men in Sheds and The Chicken Coop and how getting people out and responsible for the care or building of something is vital to keep stimulating. How not enough theatre and performance experiences are happening and the what the effects of the visceral responses can be. Who is making theatre or arts experiences, are there networks? How can carehomes support artists and vice versa. It may seem quite a scary experience working in a carehome for the first time, are there artists mentoring or training etc? How can we get more artists to explore the places that potentially scare them? Isn’t that the best place to take work?! Theatre Royal at Newcastle this year broadcasted their pantomine to nationwide hospitals and carehomes- small steps to shifting the energy of routine and lack of individual tastes. How simple steps like this makes a huge difference, especially to someone with no family or visitors and bed bound. Choice being something that seems to get forgotten about when caring or working with the elderly, especially with dementia. The choice to decide what to do, eat, where, sleep- how can the theatre we take into care homes respond in the moment, give the audience a chance to make a difference to the outcome, storytelling with different pathways, forum theatre, exploring the complexities of opinions in the room. We talked more about touch and the work of Cath Burningson – Tender Age. FROZEN LIGHT- Tunnels Could we start up skill sharing with care homes and artists in countries like Holland? Could performance artists such as Adrian Howells and his repotoire of one on ones like Footwashing for the Sole be taken into carehomes? How can we get more art on the maps? Lets keep the conversations going- thanks to everybody that attended and Ellie Dubois for scribing! Emma Nutland [email protected] Tags: elderly, Theatre, dementia, Holland, social engaged practice, care homes, THEATRE, Care homes, Dementia, theatre, applied theatre Comments: 2 Deborah Henry-Pollard, 5 May 2015 Hi, I work with a music group, Oxford Concert Party, who have for over 20 years worked with over people and those with dementia. If you check out their Resources page, there are some reports there of both their work and overviews from the Baring Foundation of other companies and the approaches they are taking. They have also worked with actors on a workshop/play project, Memory Exchange, using music, drama and personal items. There is a lot of great work around, (Sage Gateshead do some wonderful stuff) and more and more evidence of how important arts work is. It is also an area where there is a great deal of possibility for experimentation and ‘off the wall’ ideas. As always, the problem is money. Ridiculously, evidence from the US has shown that participation in arts can reduce the use of drugs, thus saving money - but drugs seem more ‘sensible’ than arts when it comes to allocating funds. Hope this info is useful. Deborah Henry-Pollard, 5 May 2015 Sorry - that should have been “Older people and those with dementia”