Sunday 11^th July (Norfolk / UK):

Summary of Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship –

I thought that it may be a good idea to summarise my Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship:

The theme of my Fellowship is ‘Arts and Older People’. I therefore visited organisations involved in working creatively with older people from a variety of settings and backgrounds in Ireland and USA. Following my travels and investigations, I will be writing a report for Winston Churchill Memorial Trust which will be published in due course, this report will summarise my investigations to include the additional information with which each organisation has provided me. I intend to use this report to discuss the good practice and learning which I have discovered and I hope to further explore the findings of the report ‘Ageing Artfully’ written by David Cutler at Baring Foundation http://www.baringfoundation.org.uk/ .

Ireland -

I spent two weeks in Ireland visiting the Bealtaine Festival 2010, seeing and taking part in festival events and exhibitions plus meeting participants, staff and management. http://bealtaine.com/

USA -

I then spent one month in USA and spent time visiting organisations and projects in Washington DC, Massachusetts, New York City and California. These are listed below:

Washington DC / Maryland:

• National Endowment for the Arts / AccessAbility Team: http://arts.endow.gov/resources/Accessibility/index.html
• National Centre for Creative Ageing: http://www.creativeaging.org/
• Liz Lerman Dance Exchange: http://www.danceexchange.org/
• IONA: http://www.iona.org/
• Arts For The Ageing: http://www.aftaarts.org/

Woburn / Boston:

• Artz is For Alzheimer's / Hearthstone Foundation: http://www.artistsforalzheimers.org/ / http://www.thehearth.org/index.html
• Whilst in this area I will be staying with friends of family at Cambridge Co-Housing: http://www.cambridgecohousing.org/

New York City:

• Museum of Modern Art, Alzheimer's Project: http://www.moma.org/learn/programs/alzheimers
• Lifetime Arts: http://www.lifetimearts.org/
• Elders Share The Arts: http://www.elderssharethearts.org/

California:

• Burbank Seniors Artist Colony: http://www.seniorartistscolony.com/
• Engage Arts: http://www.engagedaging.org/

Thank You to Winston Churchill Memorial Trust!

Finally, I would like to thank the staff, management and trustees at Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for making it possible for me to undertake such a fantastic trip and for supporting me in my travels! Thank – You! http://www.wcmt.org.uk/

Sunday 11^th July (Norfolk):

My apologies for not having kept the blog up to date. I have been back in the UK for two weeks. Almost as soon as I arrived back I became busy with work.

Therefore to recap:

I arrived into California from New York on Sunday 20^th June and I stayed until Saturday 26^th June when I flew back out of LAX airport to Schipol (Amsterdam) and then to Norwich. I arrived home just in time to watch England get knocked out of the World Cup by Germany (welcome home / same old same old etc).

California –

Whilst in California I spent time with one organisation – EngAGE who specialise in working with developers to build / renovate retirement communities. Once the development has been completed, sites and facilities are then managed by a property management company and EngAGE staff oversee programming and activities. Activities offered cover the following (taken from the EngAGE website http://www.engagedaging.org/index.html):

• Lifelong Learning
• Arts/Creativity
• Wellness
• Intergenerational
• Community Building
• Culminating Events
• Experience Talks Radio Show

I have also copied the EngAGE mission statement and goals from their website:

Mission Statement:
It is our vision to make aging a beginning. By providing life-enhancing programs to low- and moderate-income seniors living in affordable apartment communities, they will be given the opportunity to continue to grow intellectually, creatively and emotionally. Programming will focus on the combination of mind, body and spirit to promote active engagement and independent living, and to provide seniors with a purpose.

Program Goals and Objectives:

Successful Aging:

· Develop and sustain active engagement

· Improve physical and mental health

· Promote sense of purpose and meaning in life

· Promote positive attitude and self-efficacy

Healthy Communities:

· Create safe environments in which seniors can live and grow

· Develop and maintain social support networks and relationships

· Make senior apartment community part of a healthier surrounding community (schools, businesses, government, etc.)

· Improve occupancy, turnover, costs and design for owners

Awareness:

· Increase awareness of EngAGE programs

· Increase awareness of opportunities in community

· Increase senior awareness of their own abilities, dreams, goals and purpose

· Increase societal acceptance and awareness of seniors and their worth

EngAge currently provides programming in at least 17 properties around the Los Angeles / Southern California area. Accommodation is rented by occupants and will usually consist of a one or two bedroom apartment. Accommodation in the properties which I visited included parking, air conditioning, private patios / balconies, wi-fi. Properties are often landscaped and communal facilities include club rooms / games rooms, a library, outdoor communal spaces plus swimming pools.

My visits to EngAGE and their various properties were coordinated by Chief Operating Officer Maureen Kellen-Taylor with whom I met several times and had many interesting discussions. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Maureen for the time and effort that she spent helping me to learn more about the organisation – it was fantastic! I would also like to thank all of the staff and management who spent time speaking to me during my time in California – It was hugely useful!

Burbank Senior Artist Colony –

Some properties concentrate more on creative programming and the most high profile of these is Burbank Senior Artist Colony. Facilities at the Colony include:

• Performance Theater with stage and upright piano

• Resident Resource Center

• Creative Art Studios

• Business Center/Conference Center

• Outdoor courtyards with a cozy fireplace and charming fountain

• Heated swimming pool & sun deck

• Resident library

• Fitness center & fitness classes

Residents at the Colony will usually have an interest in being more creative during their retirement years but won’t necessarily have come from creative backgrounds. However, as the Colony is located in Burbank, several residents have connections to the entertainment industry in some way.

Whilst at the Colony, I sat in on an acting class - the group were exploring and developing monologues from their chosen texts and plays and were working with a professional acting teacher with a background in film and television. The class will explore a different aspect of acting during the course and will eventually perform their chosen monologues as part of a scheduled performance. I also sat in on a practice session by the Chorus who were developing their Independence Day performance. Whilst at the Colony, I also met with Tim Carpenter, Founder and Director of EngAGE who explained more about how the organisation works.

Other Properties –

Whilst in California, I also spent time at The Piedmont in North Hollywood, plus Villa Anaheim and Solara Court in Anaheim. My visits to Villa Anaheim and Solara Court were hosted by Robin Hart and Nancy Goodhart and I was able to meet several of the residents from both properties during their ‘Changing Times’ sessions being piloted by Robin and Nancy. I had several interesting discussions with Robin and Nancy about project development, community development work and voluntarism triggered by the focus on community within the ‘Changing Times’ syllabus.

I had a fantastic time in California – please see the following websites:

http://www.engagedaging.org/index.html

http://www.seniorartistscolony.com/

Thursday 24th June:

I am currently in Santa Monica Public Library, updating the blog. I arrived in California on Sunday 20th June having flown with Delta from JFK. I am staying with friends of Celia's family, Esme and Adrian who have kindly put me up. I am spending the week visiting various projects run by EngAge (based in Burbank) who run the fantabulous Burbank Seniors Artist Colony. I will be with EngAGE all week and so will write a posting on their work upon my return to UK (27th June - LAX - Mississippi - Schipol - Norwich International...)

EngAge website: http://www.engagedaging.org/

Burbank Seniors Artist Colony: http://www.seniorartistscolony.com/

Saturday 19^th June (New York):

Weather – too hot!

I have hugely enjoyed my time in the ‘Big Apple’, I have learned a great deal. I have summarised the meetings which I have had with the three organisations which I have met below:

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) – The MoMA Alzheimer’s Project:

On Wednesday afternoon (16th June), I met with Laurel Humble in the MOMA sculpture garden, Laurel coordinates this project.

MoMA’s programs in art and dementia are delivered via their education access and community programmes and as such are designed to open up the MoMA collection to Alzheimer’s / dementia sufferers and their care-givers. Roughly speaking programs target two separate cohorts:

· People with Alzheimer’s / dementia living at home (plus their care-givers)

· People with Alzheimer’s / dementia living in care settings

The majority of work undertaken is discussion-based and concentrates on presenting selected works through condition-aware methodologies, presentations and discussions. Some work is also carried out to support people in art-making sessions. All programmes are currently finished until September.

At project commencement in January 2006, tours initially involved about 30 people per month, now about 100 people per month are involved.

A key element of the project has been training for MOMA staff – MOMA worked with a local hospital and the local Alzheimer’s Association to ensure that staff were trained appropriately and that tours and communication were appropriate.

In 2007 the Museum was given a grant from Metlife Foundation who fund many arts and older people projects over here in US to create The MoMA Alzheimer’s Project. The project has allowed the program to be evaluated and recorded in a fantastic report (also available at:http://www.moma.org/meetme/index) which I have not yet had chance to analyse in any detail. MoMA have also focussed on supporting other museums and galleries to develop similar programmes and their website supports this aim also.

Elders Share The Arts (Brooklyn):

I met with Executive Director, Jennie Smith-Peers on Thursday afternoon (17th June). Elders Share The Arts (ESTA) currently have three core programmes -

· Arts programming for older adults (within both community and healthcare settings)

· Intergenerational programming

· Training for teaching artists and related staff

Both Arts Programming and Intergenerational Programming fall within what ESTA refers to as its Legacy Art Works Umbrella.

Programming –

Jennie highlighted the ‘Pearls of Wisdom’ project whereby older story-tellers (with both paid and unpaid experience) are trained to work in a variety of settings and have performed at both local, national and international venues (including the UN!). All performers are paid for their work and have access to continual professional development, training and co-support. The ‘Pearls’ are an ensemble group but mainly perform separately from one another (depending on the event). The background of each ‘Pearl’ varies greatly and the group includes an ex ‘sharecropper’, a Civil-Rights activist, an Italian immigrant for example, therefore their personal histories are core to their stories and their performances.

Intergenerational Work –

Intergenerational programmes are focussed on developing intergenerational community relationships, common understanding, eradicating suspicion distrust and ageism within the local areas in which ESTA are located. Jennie informed me that, as their intergenerational work has now taken place over at least 15 years, changes in community relationships are palpable with many younger people having been involved in several projects during their school-age years which has then influenced their outlook towards older people, their community relationships and in some cases their choice of career. Older people too, have become less fearful and more trusting in their outlook – the key point here is that this shift in community cohesion has taken a generation to become cemented within the local area... (funders take note). Most importantly, the intergenerational programmes have included the same teaching artists over that period – crucial for continuity. Intergenerational programmes have taken place in a variety of settings – both community and healthcare settings.

Jennie informed me during our discussion about what in the US are known as ‘NORCs’ – Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities. These develop (particularly within apartment-block accommodation in urban areas) when residents grow older within the neighbourhood in which they have always lived and do not wish to move somewhere else. Once a certain percentage of retired occupancy has been achieved within a particular block, the block is designated as a NORC with particular funding streams and government support triggered specifically to benefit retired residents. (I need to investigate this further). ESTA carry out a lot of their intergenerational work within ‘NORC’ settings.

Training –

All ESTA teaching artists receive specialist training and professional development in working with older people (accreditation is being developed as is condition-specific training). ESTA also carry out professional development training with medical and care staff to help them to understand and support the development of creativity in later life. This programme will be expanded.

ESTA was one of the original pilot sites for the study into the impact of professionally delivered arts programmes on the health of older people by Gene Cohen – details of which can be found at: http://www.creativeaging.org/national-research-study/

Elders Share The Arts website: http://www.elderssharethearts.org/

Lifetime Arts -

Lifetime Arts are a recently formed ‘not-for-profit’ based in the Westchester County area but seeking to influence change at County, State and national levels through the delivery of successful local initiatives and partnerships that promote professional arts instruction for older adults.The organisation is run by Maura O’Malley and Ed Friedman who I met over dinner on Friday 18th June.

Direct programming has concentrated thus far on the development of arts education partnerships with the local public library infrastructure, a development which has led to each of the 38 libraries in the Westchester County area invited to apply for grants to support sequential arts instruction in any discipline for older adults as well as hosting its own celebratory event or exhibition at project-close. Maura and Ed see public libraries as an increasingly important free and ‘age-neutral’ community resource and they hope to be able to develop similar partnerships within other areas.

Lifetime Arts are also in the process of developing a database of local teaching artists in order to support the brokerage of artists when required and plan to develop extensive professional development and training programmes in due course. Their upcoming projects include creating a plan for a continuing care facility which would create arts programs and integrate the surrounding community into the facility’s activities.

Maura and Ed have also worked at both a State and County level to influence decision-making and policy development, particularly when trying to ensure that working relationships exist between agencies which may not currently be working together.

Lifetime Arts website: http://www.lifetimearts.org/

Saturday 19th June (New York):

Weather - too hot!

I am in the process of getting copy-approval from the three older people / arts organisations with whom I have visited whilst in NYC. I will update on this asap.

To give you an idea of what I have been seeing in-between-times, please see:

MOMA website: www.moma.org (- the Cartier-Bresson, Eccentric Abstraction, Women Photographers and Picasso drawings were all fantastic)

Guggenheim website:

http://www.guggenheim.org/ (the 'Haunted' exhibition is great, as is the Julie Mehretu)

Highline website:

http://www.thehighline.org/ (the residents of Westside have developed a former elevated railway as a public park)

Friday 18^th June (New York City):

Weather – hot and humid

Noise levels – intense

Apartment - Eldridge Street - see above

Left - 'American Idiot': http://americanidiotonbroadway.com/

Myself and Celia were sad to leave Cambridge and Boston, particularly after the fantastic time we had had staying with our friends at Cambridge Co-housing.

We took an afternoon train from Boston South Station to New York Penn Station and in one four hour journey, the outside temperature must have increased by at least 10C. We arrived into Penn Station and immediately fell foul of the notorious NYC taxi drivers – we inadvertently caused an argument between two drivers due to our hesitation about whether it was necessary to queue... (very English). We arrived to our apartment at about 8.30, having already been sent the keys by Yasmine our landlady. The apartment is available to view at: http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5114 and is located on Eldridge Street in East Village near to Chinatown, The Bowery, Little Italy etc. The surrounding neighbourhood has lots of very cool clubs, bars and shops nearby.

We spent Tuesday orientating and sight-seeing, so we had breakfast in an Italian coffee shop, before going to see the American Folk Art Museum: http://www.folkartmuseum.org/

We had lunch in the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station, before heading around the New York City Library (scene of many famous films including ‘The Day After Tomorrow’) before heading towards Battery Park to look at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We headed back via the World Trade Centre site which is in the process of being redeveloped – eventually the site will include a memorial but is presently a building site. In the evening, we went to see the musical version of ‘American Idiot’ by Green Day (based on their 2005? Album). The show is currently playing at ‘St James’s Theatre’ on 42^nd Street and is fantastic. Later we met up with cast-member Mary Faber who is the daughter of some long standing friends of Celia’s family and who very kindly arranged for some complimentary tickets – thank-you Mary! http://americanidiotonbroadway.com/ . As might be expected of a punk-rock musical about disaffected young people, the show is very intense and explicit so be warned...

On Wednesday I spent time working in New York Public Library and visited the Museum of Modern Art Alzheimer’s Project which I will write about in more detail in due course. http://www.moma.org/learn/programs/alzheimers On Wednesday night we spent time wondering around The Bowery. On Thursday, I went to Brooklyn to meet Jennie Smith-Peers at Elders Share The Arts, again I will write a separate posting on this in due course. (http://www.elderssharethearts.org/)

Finally – just a brief ‘heads-up’ – I was informed by Sean Caulfield at ARTZ (see previous postings) that a fundraiser had been organised in NYC and that the ARTZ team would be in town on Thursday afternoon and evening. Therefore last afternoon, I returned from Brooklyn, changed into my suit and high-tailed it across town to JC Penney’s on 33^rd and Sixth to provide morale support. The event turned out to be ‘meet and greet’ plus album signing with Mick Jones (from the 1980s rock band Foreigner) and his step-daughter the fashion designer Charlotte Ronson, (sister of Sam and Mark). My role was to hand-out flyers and publicity and wander around JC Penney’s making people aware of the event. Those attending were able to purchase T-shirts from the new Charlotte Ronson range as well as CDs of the latest Foreigner opus ‘Can’t Slow Down’. The purchase price of all CDs was kindly donated to ARTZ with Mick Jones matching the total with a donation. Suffice to say I had my picture taken with both Mick Jones and Charlotte Ronson by the attending paparazzi... As soon as I am able, I will post the photos...

Foreigner website: http://www.foreigneronline.com/

See also: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/blogs/threadny/THREAD-Charlotte-Ronson-at-JC-Penney-with-Stepdad-Mick-Jones-96555734.html

And: http://www.thefabulousreport.com/0616/charlotte-ronson-and-mick-jones-appear-at-jcpenney.html

Sean Caulfield from the ARTZ: Artists for Alzheimer’s® project and Michlle Bioardi Programme Director at the 'Hearthstone at New Horizons' assisted living facility.