Charity challenges norm for arts in care homes with aerial circus and performance art

Leading intergenerational arts charity Magic Me aims to challenge the norm for performance arts in care homes across the UK.

The 'Artists Residencies' two-year project will bring immersive theatre, alternative cabaret, performance art, circus and aerial work from four of the UK's leading arts organisations into Anchor’s care homes for the first time, offering residents a chance to become involved in a new creative project.

Susan Langford, director of Magic Me said: “We aim to channel the colour and excitement of the arts into care homes, tapping older people’s creative energies and latent talents, to make and present new artworks and performances, both for the care home community and a much wider audience.

“Because of frailty, dementia or low energy levels, older people in care homes just don’t get out to the theatre or arts events which many Londoners take for granted. We are thrilled to be working with these four art partners, as well as Anchor to bring the very highest quality arts to older people living in care homes.”

A number of Anchor’s care homes have begun hosting the project, with four residencies already accommodating various art organisations, including; Punchdrunk, Duckie, Lois Weaver and Upswing.

Each performance lasts between three and six months at a care home, during which time the artists and performers run a host of interactive activities with residents, their families and care home staff, working together to create new artworks.

Drawing on over two decades of experience and expertise in running arts projects in care homes, Magic Me aims to support and advise the artists on how to best shape activities and present their work for care home residents, including those living with dementia.

Anchor’s customer engagement officer, Debbie Sharples-Kirkbride, commented: “This creative partnership will not only bring enjoyment and new experiences, both within the care homes and in the wider community, but it will also provide our care staff with specialist knowledge and training. We hope this project will create a legacy of understanding about the delivery of the arts within a care setting, expelling the myth of what older people can achieve.”

The project has been funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, an independent organisation that supports disadvantaged individuals, who have a lack of opportunity.

Dorothee Irving, a member of the Foundation, added: “We are delighted to be supporting this exciting opportunity for respected arts organisations to take their work into care homes while being supported by Magic Me, a company which is highly experienced in working with older people.

“The programme has additional value because of the built-in training for the artists working in these settings and Magic Me’s track record of disseminating their learning to the wider sector.”

The project aims to test new approaches and ideas, document what works and why, and share the learning with the arts and care sectors through published reports and seminar events.

Punchdrunk, an immersive theatre company is eager to provide interactive performances for the care home residents.

Pete Higgin, enrichment director of Punchdrunk, said: “We are always looking for new and unexpected spaces to create work with new participants. Creating work in a care home environment represents a significant and exciting challenge.

“We are looking forward to sharing our practice and learning from Magic Me about their approaches to working in a care home setting. We know this project will be challenging and will have an impact that will continue to inform and expand our practice in the coming years."

Older people who have participated in previous projects run by Magic Me have commented on its success and the many benefits it has offered.

One participant said: “At the beginning of the project we would all meet as strangers, but by the end of the project we were like family. Normally we would never have had the opportunity to socialise through such a project.”

Anchor is a charitable provider of housing and specialist care for older people and those living with dementia. The project will involve four Anchor homes in London, Peckham, Surrey Quays, Westminster, and Bethnal Green.