The Heritage Lottery Fund and Alzheimer’s UK have joined forces with a number of leading heritage organisations to launch a guide to creating dementia friendly heritage experiences. It includes practical advice from sites across the country who have been experimenting with innovative ways to engage visitors with dementia.
A group of young people have established a new online platform for people to share creative responses to their experiences of mental ill health. www.theperspectiveproject.co.uk/ hosts a range of material with the hope of breaking down stigma about mental illness especially in young adults.
A new set of free resources to inspire and support care homes to engage with music has been published by Live Music Now. Drawn together over the past two years, the new web resource includes a review of research into the impact of music on the lives of older people.
The project is a unique collaboration between 35 leading national organisations from adult social care, music and academic research. It is led by Live Music Now, Sound Sense and Canterbury Christ Church University, and funded by the Baring Foundation. It includes surveys of over 400 care home staff and musicians.
Arts Council England has published a set of guidance for arts organisations to support their development of equality action plans to improve inclusive approaches to diversity.
The Family Arts Campaign has launched new Age-Friendly Standards, which provide guidance for cultural organisations welcoming older family members. There are already 65 early adopters of the Age-Friendly Standards including Sadler’s Wells, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and Blackpool Grand Theatre.
The report of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Arts, Health and Wellbeing launched on 19th July in the Houses of Parliament. The report, which received widespread attention in press and media, was launched by the Co-Chairs of the APPG, Lord Alan Howarth and Ed Vaizey, MP. It contains 10 recommendations for policy changes to improve the access of everyone to the arts for health and wellbeing. Supported by a comprehensive review of research and practice examples, the report offers a range of resources for everyone working in this area.
The Mayor of London has launched a new scheme designed to showcase culture and creativity in London. Inspired by the UK City and European Capital of Culture Programmes, London Borough of Culture is a £2.5m scheme which will award two winning London Boroughs (2019 and 2020) and will be announced in February 2018.
On 19th June, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Arts Health and Wellbeing will launch its report into the impact of the arts on health. Conducted over 2 years, the report is the most significant evaluation of the role of the arts on health and wellbeing ever conducted in the UK. Over 200 witnesses contributed to discussions and events and evidence has been drawn from a huge range of sources to assess the impact of different arts and health interventions.
We are happy to share that, alongside our partners the Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance (CHWA), we have re-imagined Creativity & Wellbeing Week 2020.
