Art competition won by residents from dementia care home

Residents have won an art competition run by Akari care group, which challenged them to create a piece of artwork that represented ‘new beginnings’.

The winning art work was a calendar with a picture of a ‘new beginning’ for each month, that was compiled from a range of activities that residents took part in at the care home.

The inter-home competition was won by residents from Philips Court care home in Gateshead after competing against entries from other Akari Homes in the area.

Karleen Taylor-Williams, Manager at Philips Court, said: “We are all extremely pleased that we won the Akari Care new beginnings competition and will proudly display the cup in our home as recognition of the residents’ fantastic artwork.

“Participating in the competition was really enjoyable for residents as we organised an activity for almost every month of the calendar, some of which encouraged residents to reminisce and rekindled fond memories.”

Activities included sharing stories about baby photos, welcoming a puppy into the home, using arts and crafts sessions to create butterflies and even bringing in wedding dresses to allow residents to reminisce about their own weddings.

The home provides nursing and residential care for up to 75 people who have dementia, and uses competitions and activities to keep their resident’s lifestyles as similar as possible to those previously enjoyed in their own home.