Creative Age Programme in Gloucestershire
Creative Age is an arts-based, social community project for people living with dementia and their carers who still live independently. Participants take part in focused creative group sessions facilitated by experienced artists, exploring imaginatively with collective story-making, seated movement, dance, music, visual stimuli and poetry, with content driven by the participants’ interests. Before the pandemic, creative sessions were followed by socialising over tea and cake, hosted and coordinated by Bethesda Church and committed volunteers (who also support the artist-led sessions).
Although activities couldn’t continue as normal Creative Age were determined to continue with their programme. It was clear from conversations with carers that without the regular stimulation outside their homes from various activities they’d been involved in before coronavirus, the impact of lockdown on both carers and their partners/relatives with dementia was considerable.
From phone calls to zoom calls and a newsletter to nourish and foster a sense of community Creative Age continued to deliver.
Creative Age are now at the stage of designing their new programme for 2021, and wanting to reach out to new people to join them on our their journey. Now is the time they really need support to find new people, charities and organisations who can help them, and to find the new recruits and the motivation to keep going. Creative Age want to collaborate with CCGs, social prescribers, artists, individual practitioners and any organisations working in public health and the voluntary sector with groups similar to theirs. If you are one of these, please contact
Open Arms artists: Louise Bardgett and Lisa Harrison
Bethesda Methodist Church: Revd Naomi Cooke and Rachel Simpson