Older people

Re-Live Cardiff, a theatre company working exclusively with veterans and the elderly, has been selected as the main winner of the annual Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Award for Civic Arts Organisations.

The organisation was awarded £100,000 by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, which has been running its award for outstanding community engagement work for three years.

Two further prizes of £25,000 each were awarded to Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast, for its work with asylum seekers and women, and to People United, a Canterbury-based charity working with young refugees.

“The organisations we chose to receive this year’s award stood out for us because of the ways in which they are pioneering and embedding new ways of co-creating with their communities, putting people at the heart of their thinking,” said chair of the panel Baroness Deborah Bull.

Re-Live Cardiff helps veterans, the elderly and people with dementia to write and perform their stories as plays, as well as offering training for health and social care workers.

“We're so thrilled to have this recognition. This work has transformed lives amongst underrepresented communities across Wales,” said Karin Diamond, Re-Live’s Artistic Director.

“Now we have the potential to expand our work, which has already begun to grow internationally, shape policy and improve lives in Wales and beyond,” she added.

Golden Thread Gallery worked with local organisations to produce “Welcome to Belfast” information packs in Arabic and Farsi to help migrant women integrate in Northern Ireland, as well as creating art packs for child refugees.

“We have big plans for the future and will be creating a Process room for communities to engage with our work, as well as developing new connections with schools and groups,” said Sarah McAvera, the gallery’s Deputy Director.

People United’s “Future of Care” programme has collaborated with Kent Refugee Action Network to help young refugees and asylum seekers express themselves through painting.

“Having the resources to continue our collaboration, enabling young refugees and asylum seekers to use art to reflect on and articulate their experiences, is so exciting”, said Janice McGuinness, CEO of People United.

Westminster City Council has announced it will set aside £1.8m for arts and culture funding over the next four years.

The council said the money will help fund a range of projects to make culture more accessible to residents and visitors.

It added that it hopes to break down social and economic barriers by extending free cultural opportunities to those facing financial hardship, young people, over-65s, ethnic minority groups, people with disabilities and those experiencing social isolation.

Within the budget is a new annual Culture and Community Grants Programme, which invites local organisations and schools to bid for up to £10,000 of funding to help deliver community-based projects. 

Tim Roca, Deputy Leader at Westminster Council and Cabinet Member for Young People, Learning and Leisure, said: “I’m very excited to announce this new cultural budget that will fund a range of projects across Westminster. 

"This new funding will bring culture directly into our communities and provide a boost for Westminster’s thriving arts scene which attracts so many visitors each year."

A music app designed to support care of people affected by dementia has been launched by music wellness technology firm Music Health.

The app, called Vera, analyses the age of the person with dementia, where they grew up and how they react to music, to create a personalised playlist designed to help manage the Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD).

More than 80% of people living with dementia experience BPSD and personally significant music has been found to decrease the effects.

Vera features music owned by Universal Music, after the industry giant signed a partnership with Music Health to include the label’s entire global music catalogue.

Music Health Co-Founder Stephen Hunt likened the app to a “music detective”.

“It seeks out tunes that they used to love a long time ago but may have forgotten about, which their carers may have never heard of, and their families may not even know.”

Funding applications are now open for community groups, arts organisations and councils across Northern Ireland who wish to take part in the Arts and Older People Programme.

Established in 2010 by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the programme challenges perceptions of what it means to be an older person. It is designed to tackle loneliness and promote positive mental health among older people through the arts.

The latest round of the programme, in partnership with the National Lottery, will award £200,000 of funding in grants of up to £10,000 to support projects benefitting older people.

“We know that taking part in arts activities can raise self-esteem, boost confidence and motivation, as well as help to relieve stress, loneliness, worries and pain,” said Lorraine Calderwood, Arts Programmes Officer of Arts Council of Northern Ireland. 

She said that recent rounds of the programme have “focused on delivering arts activity within care home settings, working with residents living with dementia and their carers,” and encouraged organisations across the region to apply.

To date, the programme has provided £2m of funding to community organisations and voluntary groups, resulting in the delivery of over 200 arts projects.

Applications for this latest round of funding will close on 7 July.

Liverpool arts centre Bluecoat has been recognised for a partnership that delivered arts sessions via video call during the lockdowns.

Bluecoat and Belong, a dementia care provider, won the Creative Arts Award at the Third Sector Care Awards 2022. Their lauded project enhanced participant's cognitive capacity and increased their sense of community.

Where the Arts Belong has run since 2019, but participation was widened during the pandemic. Artists worked with residents of Belong villages to explore storytelling, sculpture, dance and sound.

"It really is a win for all our customers and Bluecoat’s commissioned artists," Belong Interim Chief Executive Stacey McCann said.

A Where the Arts Belong exhibition will open at Bluecoat later this month.