National arts and older people project receives £250,000 Arts Council funding

Arts Council England and the Baring Foundation have granted The Courtyard Centre for the Arts £250,000 to fund a three year project delivering arts to people in care homes throughout the country.

The Arts and Older People project will run in partnership with Shaw Healthcare and see four specialist arts practitioners lead singing, visual arts, dance and poetry schemes in 32 care homes.

Alice Saunders, Arts & Older People’s project coordinator at The Courtyard said: “This is a unique and valuable opportunity for The Courtyard to share and develop our work on a national level working alongside experts within the field. Acclaimed dementia poet John Killick, theatre director Liz Postlethwaite, dance artist Diane Amans and visual arts curator Rachel Mortimer will train and mentor 16 practitioners who will work on creative residencies that will capture the imaginations and provide a voice for the older people they will be working alongside.”

“Relationships and social interaction will be at the heart of the project, allowing older people to express their ideas, likes, dislikes and opinions throughout the project, as well as allowing for a huge range of interpretive freedom using words, discussion, drama, visual arts, dance and creation.

“The choice and the lead of the project will be placed in the hands of the participants, encouraging a widespread and long-term programme of delivery, reaching a broad sweep of older people throughout the country and improving their quality of life and giving those in residential care a voice. The Courtyard hopes that this project will leave a long-term legacy of expertise for future generations with a wide pool of up skilled carers and artists.”

Last year The Courtyard was the first arts venue to join the Dementia Action Alliance, which finds practical ways for society to help people with dementia to live well with the condition.

There are currently 700 organisations in the alliance working to meet the National Dementia Declaration which includes seven outcomes to improve life for families living with dementia.

The Courtyard will be visiting care homes in the West Midlands, South East, South West, the East Midlands and London to deliver their Arts and Older People project.

Peter Knott, area director, Midlands, Arts Council England which awarded the grant, said: “The Courtyard’s approach to providing arts activities for older people and people living with dementia has been inspiring. In Herefordshire, The Courtyard’s Arts and Older People project has reached more than 6,500 people and I am really pleased that with the support of this funding they will be able to continue this good work in other regions. The Courtyard has a proven plan to make their work in care homes across the country sustainable and the projects they have planned will help make the quality of life for those individuals and their families much better.”

Arts Council England and the Baring Foundation have also provided funding to three other organisations across the UK, with the aim to develop sustainable programmes allowing older people to have engaging arts experience which can improve their quality of life.