Ageing Artfully Conference in Manchester October 2011

Ageing Artfully Conference in Manchester October 2011
The first national conference on the theme of arts, creativity and older people took place in Manchester Town Hall with over two hundred delegates. It was an exciting day of professional exchange and reflection on Arts and older people. 

Karin was invited to give a talk about her Winston Churchill Travel Fellowship to Japan, which included the changing culture of care and support in Japanese society, and the use of theatre and memory work to support and enhance the lives of older people including older people with dementia.

Dementia Awareness Seminar in Cardiff September 2011 Experiential training workshop - 'Experiencing Dementia'

Dementia Awareness Seminar in Cardiff September 2011
Experiential training workshop - 'Experiencing Dementia'

Re-Live were invited to design and facilitate a series of workshops for the first ever Dementia Awareness seminar held in Cardiff and organised by Social Services Development and Training Department, Vale of Glamorgan Council. The experiential workshop for care staff and managers was designed to give participants an experience of what it could be like to be living with dementia.

Below is some feedback from participants.

"Amazing. Re-Live really opened our eyes and made us think about how people living with dementia can be affected by the smallest things within their living environment. It’ll make me think a lot more about the setting where I work and the experience us care staff provide to people." Participant

"A real eye opener. They (Re-Live) have a very unique and insightful approach to training care staff on this subject. The users of our service could benefit a lot from our staff being trained using Re-Live’s unique style of training." Participant

"I believe that the work Re-Live do is the way forward in dementia care training as they have the skills and experience to enable service providers to re-think the way the services are provided in order to achieve truly person centred care." Dan Morgan, Social Care Workforce Development Training Co-ordinator, Social Services Development and Training Vale of Glamorgan Council.

New Publication - An Evidence Review of the Impact of Participatory Arts on Older People.

New Publication - An Evidence Review of the Impact of Participatory Arts on Older People. 
This independent review by the Mental Health Foundation was commissioned by the Baring Foundation and is the first synthesis of the evidence base for the effects of participating in artist-led creative projects on older people. It is based on 24 peer reviewed studies and a further seven good quality evaluations which have not been peer reviewed ('grey literature') and lists more than 50 other studies. It concludes that 'it is evident that engaging with participatory art can improve the wellbeing of older people and mediate against the negative effects of becoming older.' It explores these impacts in terms of mental and physical wellbeing and the broader effects on communities and society. 
Click here to download a copy of the publication http://www.baringfoundation.org.uk/EvidenceReview.pdf

Creative Homes

Creative Homes: How the Arts can contribute to quality of life in residential care. 
This is a joint publication between the Baring Foundation, NCF (the National Care Forum - the umbrella body for not for profit care providers) and NAPA (the National Association for Providers of Activities for Older People). It is intended to celebrate existing good practice in the use of the arts with and for older people in residential care and to inspire more and better work.
Click here to download a copy of the publication
http://www.baringfoundation.org.uk/CreativeCareHomes.pdf

Stories to Leave sells out Chapter

We apologise to people who were disappointed at being unable to get a ticket to see our recent performance of Stories to Leave. We had no idea this show would sell out so quickly! This was a very special evening, one audience member described it as "a privilege to have witnessed". The entire project, carried out in partnership with Marie Curie Hospice in Penarth and funded by the Arts Council of Wales has been momentous for Re-Live. A huge thank you to all who supported this ambitious project. (For more on this project visit Stories to Leave page)

Re-Live at Cork Opera House

We were delighted to be invited back to the fantastic Bealtaine Festival in 2011, this time performing at Cork Opera House. A Story To Call My Own, which has been touring Wales this year, travelled across the waters and met with a wonderful response from the Irish audience.  Our after show discussion confirmed our growing belief in the universal nature of the stories we tell. People in the audience who had grown up in America, South Africa and all over Ireland shared the connections they made with the themes of childhood poverty, racial prejudice and the search for identity and belonging. 

It was a very special visit and many thanks to Dominic and all at Bealtaine for making it happen. Also a special thanks to Gwanwyn, Wales’ festival of arts for older people for generously supporting the performance.

A Story To Call My Own has been touring Wales

Stories on Night Out
A Story To Call My Own has been touring Wales with the support of the Arts Council of Wales Night Out scheme. We had a particularly memorable night in Neath, where the warmth of the audience was palpable, particularly when Jeff utters his line “I’m a Neath supporter too!” We have two performances remaining of this very popular show, Galeri, Caernarfon 2.30pm July 14th  (Box Office:01286 685 222) and Morlan Hall, Aberystywth, 7.30pm July 21st (Tickets - Carol Jenkins on 01970617996)

End of Year 1 of Baring Foundation Funding
The first year of our partnership with Chapter, funded by The Baring Foundation has come to an end. We are delighted with what’s happened in this first 12 months, especially the fact that we have taken our work across Wales, to Ireland and even to Japan, and feel excited about the year ahead.

Training 
We are currently developing our training programme which will be launched later this year. Training events will include life story work with older people, working creatively with people with dementia, facilitation and groupwork in care settings.

Arts Council of Wales grant of £25,000

We are delighted to announce we have recently been awarded an Arts Council of Wales grant of £25,000 to develop a new piece of theatre with older people. This show, which has the working title “Stories to leave”, will explore how older people feel about approaching the later stages of life. Do we rage against the dying of the light or do we embrace the next phase with all its uncertainty? What are the stories we want to take with us and what are the memories we want to leave behind? This show will be created in the spring and will premiere at Chapter in June 2011.

Our weekly Tuesday group at Chapter has got off to a great start. The group is open to anyone aged 60+ and is a place to share memories and stories and have some fun. One group member recently described the group as “the highlight of my week! A place where I feel I can really be myself”. On March 15th at 6pm there will be an opportunity for family and friends to hear some of the memories and stories from our group in an informal performance.

Karin is now back from Japan! Her travel fellowship from the Winston Churchill Fellowship Trust has enabled her to research best practice in using theatre to educate people about dementia related issues. She has been working with Dr Yukimi Uchide and her colleagues, and working and performing with Kesen Boke Ichiza Theatre Company in Ofunato, Japan. We are organizing a special event where Karin will present her findings, and we will facilitate a discussion on creative ways of enhancing the lives of older people in care in Wales. Watch this space for details on this event.