Creativity in Later Life

2010-07-11T02:54:00.001-07:00

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/

2010-07-11T02:29:00.000-07:00

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/

2010-06-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

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/

2010-06-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

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/

2010-06-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

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)

2010-06-18T09:48:00.001-07:00

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/

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

2010-06-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

Thursday June 10^th / Friday June 11th / Monday June 14^th (Cambridge / Boston / Woburn / Salem / Hearthstone Foundation / Cambridge Cohousing):

Weather – mixed / cloudy

On Thursday, Friday and Monday, I spent time with the Hearthstone group of organisations and my visits were hosted by the fantastic Sean Caulfield. The core philosophy of Hearthstone is to utilize non- pharmacological approaches, which aim to improve the quality of life for those living with Alzheimer’s / Dementia and reduce the need for pharmacologic interventions, such as anti-psychotic and anti-anxiety medications. Hearthstone essentially believes that the four predominant behavioural symptoms linked with the disease (agitation, aggression, apathy and anxiety) can be reduced without the use of unnecessary medication. Therefore the external and internal design and architecture of all Hearthstone facilities (including the grounds and gardens) are designed specifically for this aim, as are all care programmes, activities and staff training programmes.
Hearthstone is made up of both a ‘for-profit’ company and a ‘not-for-profit’ arm of which the ‘ARTZ: Artists for Alzheimer’s® project led by Sean is sometimes a part.
The ‘for-profit’ Hearthstone Alzheimer’s Care provides care and assisted living services to older people with Alzheimer’s / Dementia and their carers. This part of the group runs several care facilities in Massachusetts and New York, with affiliates in other parts of the U.S. (New Jersey) as well as internationally (Australia).
The ‘not-for-profit’ Hearthstone Alzheimer’s Foundation focuses on researching and developing care, treatments and interventions which reduce or minimise pharmacological management of sufferers and the care programmes developed within this part of the group are integrated into the work of the group as a whole.

As previously mentioned, my visits with the Hearthstone Alzheimer’s Foundation were hosted by Sean Caulfield who leads the ARTZ programmes.

The ARTZ programme includes the following (all current projects are free to participants and partner organisations due to a three year grant from a local benefactor):

A project whereby professional artists volunteer their time to work with people with Alzheimer’s / Dementia and their carers. The minimum commitment is one hour per year, however many artists volunteer more time. Artists work with participants in a variety of ways, both as participants and audience members. Activity takes place in a range of community and care settings.

A project entitled the ‘ARTZ Massachusetts Museum Network, (coordinated by Peggy Cahill), works in partnership with the following museums in the Massachusetts area:

Peabody Essex Museum in Salem

Fuller –Craft Museum in Brockton

Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge

Decordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln

National Heritage Museum in Lexington.

The ARTZ team work with each of the above museums to develop and design an evolving schedule of facilitated visits for people with Alzheimer’s / Dementia and their carers. Tours happen within each venue once every five weeks. Each tour will involve participants experiencing a pre-selected range of exhibits / artworks or pieces. Works are selected in order to elicit the maximum amount of stimulation, reaction and experiential discourse within each tour group. Tours usually consist of eight participants plus staff and frequently there is more than one tour per venue. The ARTZ team lead the coordination of most project tasks including training with museum staff and volunteers plus recruitment and coordination of tour participants. Tours are planned and led jointly by the ARTZ team and the education teams within each Museum. This model of working has also been developed by ARTZ nationally and internationally with museums and galleries including the Louvre in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (MoMA now facilitates its Alzheimer’s program independent of ARTZ). Speaking to Ellen Soares, Education Manager at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, I learned more about the practicalities involved in delivering these tours from the perspective of a Museum as well as the benefits to both participants and the museum itself.

An interactive cinema programme, entitled, ‘Meet Me At The Coolidge...and make memories’ project. The core idea is that ARTZ staff work in partnership with local cinemas (in this case an independent arts cinema in Boston called The Coolidge Corner Theatre and their Foundation). Specially programmed screenings are developed and shown in which short clips from famous old movies are shown to the audience in order to stimulate a reaction and experiential discussion amongst audience members. Discussions are not specific to the movie or to the era and are often discursive based on the history or as-is memory of audience members. It is hoped that this project will be developed further. The program has also been done in collaboration with the Tribeca Film Institute in New York City, with public programs offered in 2007 and 2008. Future showings are currently in development.

During my time with Hearthstone Alzheimer's Care, I spent a day at the 'Hearthstone at New Horizons' care facility in Marlboro Massachusetts and would like to thank their Programme Director Michelle Bioardi and all the residents for being so welcoming and helpful. Hearthstone at New Horizons is what the Americans call an ‘assisted living’ facility in which residents live and are cared-for on-site. (I will clarify further about the differences between this type of facility and what in the UK we would refer to as residential / nursing care in due course before writing my final report). All residents have a diagnosis of some type of Alzheimer’s / Dementia and there are three main care programmes:

• The Cognitive Strengthening Program for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early Dementia – designed to maximise cognitive functioning and ally the onset of the disease through stimulation, learning, exercise, and personal empowerment;
• The Life Quality Program for those in the middle stages of the disease – designed to support people with a developing condition to remain as active and stimulated as appropriate;
• The Enhanced Life Program for late stage dementia and those with dementia compounded by other conditions that require more intensive services.

All care programmes are designed to maximise the participation of all residents in individualised and group activities and stimulation, therefore within each typology mentioned above, activities usually run between 10am and 7pm. There is little or no distinction made between ‘support / care’ and ‘activity’, therefore all staff and management are trained and expected to support and facilitate the delivery of the daily schedule and individual / group activities which include meals. A typical schedule for people within the Cognitive Strengthening Program may therefore include:
· The morning meeting

· Exercise and hydration

· Cooking group

· Computer cafe / internet / email sessions

· Art stroll – there is a painting trail and Art Stroll packs available at each facility

· Lunch

· Book club (facilitated by staff but led by residents themselves - recent books have included “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, “True Compass, the biography of Ted Kennedy”, “The Great Gatsby” etc

· Art sessions

· Snack (prepared by residents each morning)

· Exercise and hydration

· Coffee and life stories

· Bingo

· Dinner

The above programmes have been developed over time following research by Dr Cameron Camp, the Hearthstone Director of Research and New Product Development based on a ‘Montessori-approach’ – building on each person’s abilities and personal choice through procedural learning.

The New Horizons facility and its grounds have been designed to maximise easy orientation and to reduce stress and confusion in order to mediate potential anxiety, agitation, aggression or apathy. Individual care regimes aim to reduce or minimise the use of medications of which the daily schedule mentioned above will form a core part. Residents rooms are filled with their personal possessions and furniture and each room is identifiable due to a life history box (usually a framed photo-montage or collage) on the wall next to their door. The garden has been designed equally to engage residents, maximise their participation and reduce stress / anxiety and includes an intergenerational sensory garden developed with local children and younger people.

I will write more about the Hearthstone philosophy and programmes within my report to Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, suffice to say that I had a fantastic time and learned a great deal.

Hearthstone website: http://www.thehearth.org/index.html

ARTZ website: http://www.artistsforalzheimers.org/index.html

Whilst staying at Cambridge Cohousing, I also learned about the Harvard
Institute for Learning in Retirement which I shall reference further in my final report to WCMT: http://www.hilr.harvard.edu/

2010-06-10T14:08:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 8^th June (Washington DC – Boston / Cambridge MA via Amtrak / cab):

Weather – good

It was with some sadness that I left DC having enjoyed myself so much at Francesca and Rob’s house. I have also met so many interesting, welcoming and helpful organisations and greatly enjoyed DC’s social and cultural offer.

I made my way via the Metro to Union Station and then took the Amtrak to Boston. I sat at a table seat in the quiet carriage and spent much of the journey working.

I arrived in Boston at about 4.30 and jumped in a cab to the Cambridge Cohousing community where I am staying with my wife Celia who has flown out to join me.

We had a great meal with our friends who live in a great house within the community.

Wednesday 9^th June (Cambridge / Boston):

Myself and Celia enjoyed coffee in Harvard, before taking the ‘T’ to Boston. We walked around the harbour, partly along the ‘Freedom Trail’, had lunch in Quincy Market (Scallops with Bacon), coffee in the Italian district and spent a little time in the Boston Athenaeum, the concierge of which is a Norwich City supporter. In the afternoon, we returned to the house and in the evening we attended one of Cambridge Cohousing’s community meals which was fantastic!
For pictures of life at Cambridge Cohousing please go to: http://www.cambridgecohousing.org/gallery.html

2010-06-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

Photographs of 'Quicksilver' in action courtesy of Arts for the Aging.

Monday 7th June, Washington DC / Metropolitan area / Arts For The Aging

Weather - hot

I travelled to Bethesda to meet with Arts for the Aging. I met with Programme Director Lama Dajani and Executive Director Janine Tursini. Lama had very kindly arranged for me to see local projects in Alexandria (Virginia) and Germantown (Maryland) including a session by ‘Quicksilver’ at a Seniors Centre in Alexandria who deliver their hour long movement and stimulation sessions with a live violinist. Many of the participants appeared to have mild or moderate cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s / Dementia or other conditions. All participants seemed to be very engaged with the sessions and ‘Quicksilver’ were themselves supported by Centre staff in engaging participants directly and ensuring that they participated as much as they wished.

From Lama, I learned some more about the AFTA philosophy which is encompassed in their template teaching model documents which all artists must adhere to. Artists also undergo rigorous training to ensure that delivery and session content is appropriate. Having learned a little of the AFTA process, I feel that they may be able to licence this information in order to generate income – for that reason I have not quoted any of their resources directly.

In the afternoon I met with Janine Tursini, Executive Director and we had a wide- ranging conversation about the history and current programmes of AFTA and future developments. I will refer more to this conversation during my report to WCMT. During our conversation, we discussed the fact that there may be analogies between the work of arts and older people organisations and organisations which in the UK we would refer to as providing ‘preventive’ services. There are specific analogous difficulties faced by both types of organisation when trying to monitor and evaluate their work in terms of the impact on health and social care outcomes. These difficulties are neatly encapsulated within the Age Concern England report ‘The Evidence Base For Preventive Services’ (see link). I provided Janine with a copy of this report. The quote below is from page 4:

The dominant but narrow medical perspective on measuring outcomes should be

challenged. The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has developed the

notion of ‘knowledge-based practice’ which recognises the contribution of

quantitative research but gives equal value to other forms of knowledge: “the lived

experience of service users/carers and the practice wisdom of practitioners can

be just as valid a way of understanding the world”.

The report is available at:

http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/FF8B1C2D-647C-4028-808A-414FE5085C90/43934/PreventativeServices1.pdf

I plan to explore these analogies and potential solutions upon my return to UK.

2010-06-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

Views of Rob and Francesca's area - click on link below:

http://dc.blockshopper.com/property/10380098/1330_south_carolina_se#photos

Book Rob and Francesca's room at:

http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/23482

2010-06-06T19:09:00.001-07:00

Friday 4^th June (pm), Saturday 5^th June and Sunday 6^th June (Washington DC, City Centre, Capitol Hill and Barracks Districts):

Weather hot, humid and wet (Sunday only)

Francesca and Rob have very kindly taken me out with them in the evenings, I have therefore spent time with them at Tunni’s Tavern on 7^th Street and also at a party to celebrate the Belmont Stakes horse race on Saturday. On Sunday I spent time at the Hirshhorn Sculpture Gallery seeing an exhibition about Yves Klein and associated exhibitions focussing on the use of pure colour in art, sculpture and installation art (Klein, Kapoor, Rothko, Turrell etc). There is also a fantastic film by Chris Chong Chan Fui using a fixed camera to track the daily comings and goings in a Kuala Lumpur tower block.http://hirshhorn.si.edu/exhibitions/index.asp?key=19. I also saw the exhibitions of Tibetan paintings and Cambodian bronzes at the Freer / Sackler Galleries:http://www.asia.si.edu/

2010-06-06T18:47:00.001-07:00

Pictures from top:

Current Iona Senior Services artist-in-residence Melanie Grishman (http://www.iona.org);

Liz Lerman Dance Exchange

http://www.danceexchange.org/

Francesca and Rob's house;

Roy Litchenstein sculpture outside Hirshhorn Museum.

Tuesday 1^st June (Norwich – Amsterdam - Washington DC / Capitol Hill):

Weather – hot and humid

After arriving back in Norwich from Dublin on Sunday, I spent Monday preparing to leave the country again. As the London airports are all such a pain to get to and often so unpleasant to be in I flew with KLM from Norwich to Schipol and then from Schipol to Washington DC. After setting off from our house at 8am, I landed in DC at 5pm local time (10pm UK time). I am staying with a couple called Francesca and Rob who have a great house in the Capitol Hill district of DC. I arrived at the house at about 7.30pm local time (12.30 UK time) and almost immediately went out again for dinner. Washington DC is becoming very hot and humid as the summer months proceed.

The Capitol Hill district is located South-East of the city, about one mile from The Capitol Building. Pennsylvania Avenue runs past the nearest Metro station (Eastern Market). The prevailing architectural style in Capitol Hill is for terraces of three and four storey town houses, sometimes with porches or verandas and sometimes with towers. According to Francesca this style of building originates from about 80 or 90 years ago. Fransceca’s house was built in exactly the same style as the local vernacular but only four years ago. The house has excellent amenities and facilities and Rob and Francesca are brilliant hosts. Before I went to bed, I had already organised my routes for several of my meetings during the week - with Francesca’s help.

Wednesday 2^nd June (Washington DC / National Center for Creative Aging):

Weather hot and humid

My first meeting was not scheduled until midday so I spent the morning getting over jet-lag (I don’t suffer from it particularly) and orientating myself to DC.

At Midday, I took the Metro up to Tenleytown to meet Gay Hanna, Executive Director of the National Center for Creative Aging, (NCCA). The NCCA is a ‘not-for-profit’ membership network and exists to support the development of the creativity and ageing agenda at a national level across USA. The organisation has six key work areas:

1. To evaluate arts and aging programs to identify and promote best practices.

2. To distil the lessons of model programs in order to create technical assistance materials and training programs for others to use.

3. To support the replication of best practice models through existing or new arts and aging programs and coalitions throughout the country.

4. To serve as a clearinghouse for the exchange of information and resources, such as national conferences and national e newsletter.

5. To create and maintain a database of such programs as a resource to others.

6. To support research and policy toward developing the field.

We discussed current and future work programmes and projects including the fact that NCCA are in the process of working with George Washington University to develop a person-centered care and creativity training centre for medical staff. NCCA are hoping also to develop an international arts and older people conference next year. I have ensured that Gay has the contact details for the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and for Baring Foundation as she mentioned wishing to invite the WCMT arts and older people Fellows to the conference.

http://www.creativeaging.org/

In the early evening, having previously returned from my meeting and written up my notes, I travelled back into DC to go to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and National Museum of American Art both of which stay open to 7pm. I saw an interesting exhibition of portraiture, including one artist who had given everyone in their hometown the opportunity to have their portrait painted, plus a very interesting exhibition which recounted the development of Christo’s ‘Running Fence’ project in California during the 1970s.

http://americanart.si.edu/

Thursday 3^rd June (Washington DC / Liz Lerman Dance Exchange / National Endowment For the Arts):

Weather hot and humid

In the morning, I took the Metro over to Takoma Park to meet the team at Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (LLDE). LLDE are one of the world leaders in intergenerational dance projects and have a 30 year plus history in working creatively with local communities to develop creative dance projects. I spent the morning with the organisation and had a series of very in-depth and wide-ranging conversations with management, staff and dancers. I also saw an example of their work – ‘Wind Studies’ a child-focussed performance piece discussing the importance of the wind. Rather than recount in-depth the conversations which took place during my meetings with LLDE, I will refer to the key points within my final report:

http://www.danceexchange.org/whoweare.html

In the afternoon, I went over to visit the AccessAbility team at National Endowment for the Arts (equivalent to The Arts Council in UK). The National Endowment for the Arts’ Office for AccessAbility is the advocacy-technical assistance arm of the Arts Endowment to make the arts accessible for people with disabilities, older adults, veterans, and people living in institutions. The Office works in a myriad of ways to accomplish its goals, such as:

Providing technical assistance to individuals and organizations in the following areas: to open existing programs and make the arts fully accessible to people with disabilities, older adults, and people living in institutions; and to comply with the Endowment's Section 504 Regulations and the Americans with Disabilities Act;
Initiating cooperative projects with other federal agencies and nonprofit groups to better educate professionals serving older and disabled people concerning access issues and the value and benefits of arts programming;
Encouraging and assisting more support for addressing the needs of older and disabled Americans through the Endowment's divisions and through state and national groups concerned with the arts and with underserved populations;
Assisting applicants and grantees with project development that involve the targeted groups; and
Organizing/convening panels, seminars, and workshops for Endowment staff, its grantees, as well as other federal agencies

I met with the Director Paula Terry and we spent some time discussing the work of the AccessAbility team including ‘Universal Design’. Paula very kindly has arranged for the NEA book on ‘Universal Design’ to be sent back to UK for me.

In the evening, I spent time walking up to the Capitol Building and back.

Friday 4^th June (Washington DC / Iona Senior Services):

Weather hot and humid

I went to visit Iona Senior Services who are based in Tenleytown (NCCA are in fact based within their building). Iona provide a range of services to older people living in DC, most notably day care services. I was given a tour of the day centre, gallery and other facilities within the centre and met Director of Development Meg Artley and Gallery Coordinator Patricia Dubroof as well as Social Worker Bill Amt.

The philosophy at Iona has always been to integrate creativity and creative opportunities into their service delivery at all levels. Two practical examples of how this has manifested itself are that the day centre currently includes an art therapy unit with an art therapist employed on site and the fact that Iona also run artist-in-residence programmes. As a consequence, not only is the development of creativity seen as integral to the development of the ‘person-centred’ care programmes but that also, the whole building is treated as a gallery with art and craft exhibited on all of the walls and in all of the display units. http://www.iona.org/ I will explore the key highlights in policy, funding, care philosophy and service delivery in more detail within my report to WCMT.

2010-05-31T09:24:00.002-07:00

Saturday 29th May pm (Dublin):

I met up with Alice Twaite in the early evening at Gruel on Dame Street which is one of the best eateries we have been to - very cool, down to earth, no nonsense but decent grub...

Later we went along to Project Art Space in Temple Bar for 'Project Brand New Generation'. The theme was 'Future Histories, Historical Futures and The Present Day. 'Project Brand New' "is an initiative that exists to provide a framework for theatre, dance, music and live art practitioners to develop new work for the stage outside traditional production models" and offers artists the opportunity to put new ideas into practice at a developmental stage. 'Generation' consisted of a week-long intergenerational residency between younger and older artists. Artists were selected having submitted proposals exploring the theme of 'Future Histories, Historical Futures and The Present Day'. All of the artists were introduced to each other (and each other's proposals) on Monday. Artists then worked in small groups to develop collaborative pieces over the week and these were then performed on Saturday night. There were four short performances, all developing the theme(s) in a different way using the Project Art Space and facilities. I most enjoyed 'The Independent' by Susie Fournier, Shane Galvin and Fran O'Brien.

http://www.projectartscentre.ie/

Sunday 30th May (Dublin, UK):

Unfortunately, I was scheduled to leave Dublin on Sunday as I needed to return to Norfolk UK, to then fly out to Washington DC on Tuesday. I have explained previously about the ashcloudsituation. I therefore took the 8.20am ferry from Dublin and docked at 11.45am at Holyhead. After an 'interesting' drive, I arrived back at Norwich at 6.30pm.

What I therefore missed were the 'Dawn Chorus' events and the 'Re-Live' performance at the Mill Theatre (one of the Re-Live organisers is a fellow WCMT Fellow Karin Diamond).

Youtube footage of a 'Dawn Chorus' 2010 event: http://bealtaine.com/videos-and-comments/dawn-chorus-2010

Re-Live website: http://www.re-live.org.uk/index.html

2010-05-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

Saturday 29th May (Dublin):

Photos of Ballymun (see postings about Dermot Bolger / 'The Parting Glass' / Ballymun):

It is my understanding that until the mid 1960s, the area which became the 'Ballymun' in these photographs was largely rural and made up of small communities. Although Dublin city centre is about five miles away, the difference between 'urban' and 'rural' was distinct. During the 1960s, this area was developed to provide housing / accommodation for thousands of people and despite its relatively close proximity to the nearby northern suburbs, the area became known as a ghetto and a 'no-go' area. In recent times, particularly during the 'Celtic Tiger' period (and presumably as a result of infrastructural monies from the EU), the area has undergone significant regeneration and investment, although this would now appear to have stagnated again due to the economic crisis. In these photographs, it is possible to see some of the original blocks as they are now, alongside more recent regeneration. The area contains new hotels (TraveLodge, Days Inn etc) and retail space, (however the Tesco appears to be in one of the older buildings), plus new accommodation and housing, particularly to the northern edge near Santry. Therefore, within a relatively small area, students, migrant workers, first-time buyers and aspirational families live alongside or in close proximity to what remains of the original estates and those still in them. I am unaware of how many families still remain in the remnants of the original blocks. As mentioned previously, the area also contains the now famous axis arts centre which is located in one of the newer buildings alongside the health centre, social security office and Garda station.

2010-05-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

Stop Press: Bealtaine / 'Blow The Dust...' Realplayer Link:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0526/6news_av.html?2760923,null,230

Stop Press: Bealtaine / Serendipity Youtube Link:

http://www.youtube.com/limerickpostvideo#p/u/2/MSGcEtGH9Ks

2010-05-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

Thursday 27th May (Dublin):

I spent the morning reading Dermot Bolger's 'A Father's Music' and the Bealtaine evaluation report. In the afternoon I met up with Alice Twaite again and we toured The Hugh Lane, 'Rialto Twirlers' at The Lab, 'The North Strand Bombing' exhibit at Dublin Library plus 'Crochet Coral Reef at the Science Gallery.

We then checked out Temple Bar and went for a rather superior supper at a place on Upper Ormond Quay - the food is getting better at last...

Friday 28th May(Dublin):

I drove from Castleknock through Phoenix Park to Christ Church Rathgar for a screening of the fantastic 'Dean Spanley' (Peter O'Toole, Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill) in an upstairs room in the church hall as part of the 'First Friday Film Club'. The film is set in Edwardian England and tracks the thawing of the relationship between widower and eccentric patriarch Fisk Senior (O'Toole) and Fisk Junior (Northam), following the loss of their wife / mother and son / brother respectively. The relationship change is triggered by the mysterious Dean Spanley and his predilection for Imperial Tokay. About 30 people attended. After the film had finished and we had had a cup of tea, we were entertained with live Roots and Americana music by Lynda Lucas and Brendan Priestley - excellent traditional and more recent material from The Carter Family et al - excellent close harmonies. http://www.firstfridayfilmclub.com

IMDB overview and reviews of 'Dean Spanley': http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135968/

What is interesting is that, during my ten days in Dublin, I keep finding connections back to the East of England and Norfolk. The Tacita Dean film 'Apples' showing at The Hugh Lane was filmed in Suffolk, Alice Twaite (whom I only met through this fellowship) originally comes from Norfolk, and the film 'Dean Spanley' was shot mainly in the East of England (- I think Norwich and Cambridge) and was part-funded by Screen East.

I then drove through town and out to Howth to eat whitebait and mussels in Octopussy's Seafood Tapas Bar, followed by a frustrating drive across the top of Dublin and down the now legendary M50 back home.

2010-05-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

Monday 24^th May (Dublin):

I spent the morning updating and publishing the blog in a city centre internet cafe and eating the worst fish and chips I have ever experienced. I then went over to the National Library and Archive to see their exhibition about the Irish Countrywomen’s Association who celebrate their 100^th anniversary this year and who have a history of campaigning on issues affecting women in Ireland, perhaps most notably on issues of poverty in rural areas. This exhibition has been accompanied by a series of talks, lectures and other events to celebrate the anniversary. The association also has a history of encouraging the developments of traditional and non-traditional crafts and skills.

Tuesday 25^th May (Dublin):

I managed to pick up a copy of the 'Ballymun Trilogy' by Dermot Bolger (see Saturday's posting) and have been reading it avidly. My initial thoughts about Ballymun were almost correct, however I did not realise that the Ballymun estates were built on green-field land in the mid-sixties. The fact that the area has been in semi-perpetual regeneration for many years is indicative of the fact that the initial social experiment involving families being cleared from central Dublin tenements into out-of-town tower blocks was fatally flawed from its inception. What is clear from the plays in the Trilogy is the fact that, despite the organisational and social dysfunction which resulted over the decades, many people in Ballymun still became very attached to the area and that strong community ties often developed out of the adversity faced by residents.

Myself and fellow WCMT Fellow Alice Twaite met Dominic Campbell Artistic Director for Bealtaine and Anne Leahy Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Age and Opportunity to discuss the festival. We discussed the history, development, partnerships and funding underpinning the festival as well as the logistics and creative processes involved in running it. We also discussed other Age and Opportunity Programmes including 'Creative Exchanges'. Dominic supplied us with copies of the festival evaluation report which will inform my own report to WCMT. Following lunch, myself and Alice went across to buy tickets for the ‘Blow The Dust Off Your Trumpet’ concert on Wednesday night.

Wednesday 26th May (Dublin):
In the afternoon I went along to a rehearsal for the 'Dance Arias' performance and met Philippa from the Cois Ceim Dance Company who are working with a number of different over 55s groups around the city, developing contemporary dance pieces set to arias from the famous operas. These will be showcased on Sunday Night at The Mansion House.
www.coisceim.com
Wednesday 26th May - evening (Dublin):
Having previously hooked up with fellow WCMT Fellow Alice Twaite (Equal Arts /http://www.equalarts.co.uk/contact.aspx) to meet the team at Age and Opportunity, we met up again on Wednesday night to attend the 'Blow The Dust Off Your Trumpet' event at The National Concert Hall. The idea behind this particular Bealtaine project was that older people who had not been involved in music for some time were given the opportunity to re-aquaint themselves with their instruments and singing voices to work with a conductor to put on an orchestral concert for a public audience. The event was very well attended by a very enthusiastic audience.http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0526/6news_av.html?2760923,null,230

Following the concert, we had the first half-decent meal out since I arrived in Dublin (risotto at Carluccios). Later, I walked back to the car which I had parked in Phoenix Park only to initially panic that it may have been stolen (it wasn't - I had parked up in the afternoon at the end of a very long line of parked vehicles - the walk back to the car was longer than expected and very dark).

2010-05-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

Dementia Adventure Update:

I forgot to mention that my colleague Neil has just launched his new website for his extremely fabulous Dementia Adventure social enterprise check it out at:

www.dementiaadventure.co.uk

2010-05-24T05:39:00.000-07:00

Photos:

Very Top - 'Tipping Point' at The Hugh Lane

Top - The River Liffey in Dublin

Middle - The view from Howth

Bottom - the audience at the Serendipity show, Queen of Peace School, Limerick

Trip Reminder:

For those joining the blog at this stage, a quick reminder of what this is all about. (For a more fulsome explanation please see previous blog entries). In a nutshell, I have been successful in applying for a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship to investigate the provision of arts and creativity for older people in Ireland and USA. Once my investigation is completed, I will be publishing a comparative report into this particular sector within UK, Ireland and USA. Between 18^th May and 30^th May, I shall be in Ireland taking part in the Bealtaine Festival - the Irish national festival of creativity in later life, organised by Age and Opportunity (www.bealtaine.com). This year’s theme is “Have dreams and speak them without fear” from a poem by Anthony S Abbott.

Up In Smoke? (Mon 17^th – Tues 18^th May):

Anticipating something that may never happen is a habit of mine, I therefore decided on Sunday night to hire a car and drive to Holyhead because of the ashcloudsituation (the anxiety from which has almost been as bad as the coalitionsituation). I figured that to control what I could control would be better than to be beholden to BAA or Ryanair. Picking up the car on Monday night, I got a stone chip in the windscreen four miles from our house and decided that, as we live 20 miles north east of Norwich, that I should set off at 6am the next day. It was as I was passing Chester that I heard themanontheradio stating with no irony that thegovernment was reviewing the levels of ash through which it was safe to fly and that most likely the density level would be increased. Hmm science vs Willie Walsh... I wonder? Anyway Sirstelios seems to disagree with Sirrichard that increasing the safe density level is a good thing – I think I agree with Sirstelios.

Anyway, I drove off the ferry at Dun Laoghaire and got to within a mile of the house in which I am staying in a north western suburb of Dublin called Castleknock. I am staying in a house which we found on www.airbnb.com which is owned by a lady called Louise who is currently in Cuba. I arranged to pick up the keys from Louise’s partner Mark which worked out fine. Mark showed me around and dropped me at the local supermarket called SuperQuinn. (Sounds like a Haights Ashbury-dwelling perma-stoned super hero from back in the days before Dylan went electric?) Anyway thanks to SuperQuinn I was able to eat before bed.

By Serendipity I ended up in Limerick? (Weds 19^th May):

Not quite. My pre-trip investigations had resulted in a new contact called Hedda Kaphengst who runs the Serendipity Theatre Group who organise variety / theatre shows in community settings and who have been supported by the Bealtaine organisers to develop their work. I had discovered from Hedda that Serendipity were due to play a public show at the Queen of Peace school just outside of Limerick. Despite the previous day’s journey, I was determined to see the show and naively jumped in the motor and went across to Limerick arriving in the relevant housing estate three hours later. As I was rather early, I decided to drive into town to check out Limerick. Having had something to eat, I was in the process of finding the car when I passed a plate glass window with a series of posters displayed. Upon further investigation, I discovered that the 34^th annual Exhibition of Visual Art is taking place this year in Limerick (“Ireland’s pre-eminent annual exhibition of contemporary art”). As memorable as the exhibition was, more memorable was the fact that the organisers have made use of city-centre real estate (ie newly built but unused city-centre office space) to stage some of the exhibition. I spent an hour at the Thomas Street location stunned not just by the work (which is mostly excellent), but by the fact that I was wandering around a recently-built plate-glassed but unoccupied five storey office block (no interior walls). I was informed by a local that much of the unused retail and office space had been given over similarly to artists and creatives because it would otherwise remain empty due to the recession.

Firing-up the Vauxhall and exiting the crap 80s carpark, I slowtailed it in the wrong direction around the bye-pass back to the Queen of Peace school for the Serendipity show. Hedda had taken the “have dreams and speak them without fear” theme and developed an excellent show in collaboration with the Bealtaine Writers’ Group which included songs, quotes, poems and anecdotes about love, marriage, fame, ambition and happiness. Material came from both Hedda and the Writers’ Group plus famous artistes including Noel Cowerd, Grace Kelly, Woody Allen, Marlene Dietrich etc. The audience predominantly consisted of ladies from various community projects and day centres from around the city who were given tea and cake prior to the show and sang along with all of the tunes. The post-show raffle resulted in several members of the audience acquiring either a) strong liquor or b) litter-pickers or c) compost bins “delivered to your door by the council so don’t worry”. Suffice to say, all went away happy.

http://serendipitytheatregroup.ning.com/profile/HeddaKaphengst?xg_source=activity

Thursday 20^th May (Dublin):

Weather – mixed. A busy day spent in Dublin negotiating by phone with the company which runs the M50 toll and negotiating around the Dublin railway system: Tom “I have never used the railway here before”, attendant “well you are indeed very lucky”.

Having made it into town, (as opposed to the middle of nowhere – there are no signs at Castleknock Station), I first visited the Original Print Gallery in Temple Bar for the ‘Ink’ exhibition (photographs by Aidan Kelly of older people and their tattoos, which is highlighted in the Bealtaine catalogue. (www.bealtaine.com). Within Temple Bar there are many other galleries, studios and creative businesses as well as the National Library of Ireland which is showing a very interesting exhibition of re-printed photographs taken during the period of the War of Independence and the Civil War in Ireland by W.D. Hogan. Lots of pictures of the Black and Tans plus Michael Collins in full cry along with other key figures from the period. (Google the National Library of Ireland for more information). Just around the corner, another gallery whose name escapes me were exhibiting the ‘Prix Pictet’ an annual international competition of photography and image-making which communicate “powerful messages of global environmental significance”. I particularly liked the images by Yao Lu which appear at first glance to be traditional Chinese Landscape paintings but which are in fact composite digital images using huge landfill sites as their basis. (www.prixpictet.com)

After lunch I trekked up to The Hugh Lane Gallery and took in ‘The Perceptive Eye: Artists Observing Artists’, the Ellsworth Kelly drawings and the Francis Bacon studio exhibitions all of which are either directly part of the Bealtaine or are linked to it.

The Ellsworth Kelly exhibition takes as its basis drawings executed between 1954 and 1962 when Kelly was beginning to immerse himself within his now famous abstract approach to painting and drawing. Kelly is now well into his 80s, unfortunately I missed the lecture on his work by Logan Sisley on Wednesday as I was following tractors around Limerick byepass. ‘The Perceptive Eye: Artists Observing Artists’ takes as its basis paintings and portraits of artists by artists including self-portraits. (There have also been two talks about portraits of artists in later life but these took place before I arrived). The Francis Bacon studio exhibition is worth a look just to see both the studio itself and to see the looped edited interview footage between Bacon and a very hirsute Melvin Bragg, presumably undertaken for an early South Bank Show. Also at The Hugh Lane currently is a fantastic film which takes as its basis the oeuvre of writer W.G Sebald. Tacita Dean’s film concentrates on Sebald’s friend and translator Michael Hamburger, or more accurately, on his imposing Suffolk home and orchards and also his preoccupation with apples. Excellent, particularly the wind-dominated soundtrack – very East Anglian, in fact very Sebaldian...

Friday 21^st May (Dublin):

Weather – hot. Another busy day. I first of all went along to The LAB on Foley Street for two Bealtaine exhibitions: ‘The Rialto Twirlers’ a fantastic film focussing on a local majorette group by Anne Maree Barry and ‘It’s Nice to Meet Our Friends Once In A While’ by Michael McLoughlin. ‘The Rialto Twirlers’ is a beautifully produced film, shot in a disused factory and concentrating on several local majorettes as they practice their routines. Whilst leaving the LAB, I also came across an interesting sculpture / installation involving the work ‘Ubiquitous, Undesired Friend’ by Janet Mullarney – again excellent.

I then went along to The Hugh Lane for ‘Tipping Point’, an excellent dance piece involving the Ciotog dance company and members of the Macushla Dance Club – an over 50s local dance group. ‘Tipping Point’ is therefore the result of a collaboration between professional and amateur dancers both young and old. The piece is described as “a chamber piece about pressure, slipping, sliding and tripping from one unstable balance to another” and takes its inspiration from the “forces shaping canvas and image in Francis Bacon’s work”. Being a definite fan of Bacon’s particular brand of dislocated miserablism I loved ‘Tipping Point’, particularly as the work involved the dancers interacting with each other in a way which took into account the limits of their physical abilities, whilst still allowing them to express movement reflective of the core creative themes mentioned above. Talking of dance, the Dublin City Dance Festival is also on currently, so on Sunday I will be going to see Soledad Barrio and ‘Noche Flamenca’, a night of Flamenco. When in Rome...

The afternoon saw me searching out the Dublin City Library for ‘The North Strand Bombing’ exhibition which features photography and oral histories relating to the North Strand Bombing by the Nazis during the Second World War. This event was one of several attacks which pressurised the neutrality of Ireland during the war. The exhibition is one of a number of local history/ archive / community creative projects undertaken by Dublin City Public Libraries as part of Bealtaine. On the way to the library, I also happened across the exhibition ‘Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef’ at the Science Gallery. This exhibition is the result of an ongoing project to develop crocheted sculptures which mimic the development of natural phenomena such as choral (both mathematically and visually). The same technique is also used to illustrate the problem of plastic-waste at sea. This may sound odd but apparently scientists now believe that hyperbolic geometry as found in nature, particularly the apparently random geometry found in choral, can in fact be replicated through crochet (no really). I had a conversation with one of the attendants about flat, Euclidean and Hyperbolic geometry and frankly it’s all Greek to me.... I went home to try and draw parallel lines on ping-pong balls but couldn’t find any.

Saturday 22^nd May (Dublin):

A very interesting day. I was having trouble phoning the axis arts centre in Ballymun in order to book tickets for a play called ‘The Parting Glass’ and I also wanted to see the exhibition and food market at The Red Stables Arts Centre in St Anne’s Park. I therefore set off intrepidly into the Dublin road system and confirmed what I had suspected – that my orientation as regards where I have been living was incorrect... The house in which I am staying is on the ‘outside’ of the M50 and not the ‘inside’ as I had assumed. This latter point will only make sense to anyone who has navigated the Junction 6 roadworks on the M50 recently. Also as I haven’t been able to access the internet at the house, I haven’t been able to print more detailed maps – the street map I have purchased doesn’t include where I am living and the address is ‘Castleknock’ when it seems to be closer to Blanchardstown...

Anyway I navigated myself down the N3 and then up into Ballymun to find axis. The axis centre is located on a dual carriage-way entitled ‘Main St, Ballymun’ which makes it sound like a village suburb – it isn’t. Ballymun is a northern suburb of Dublin which you wouldn’t go to if you didn’t have a reason. It is fair to say that Ballymun has been subject to several periods of regeneration. There are concrete blocks of flats which appear to date from the 1960s, some of which appear to be totally empty and sealed with metal sheeting and shutters. Some are still part occupied, despite being boarded up on the lower floors. Some land has been completely cleared of all buildings and there have been several attempts to redevelop and build new accommodation, retail and business space. The axis centre is in one such development, part of a larger building which also includes the social security offices, Garda and other statutory organisations (I think). Nearby there is a newly built Travelodge (almost as attractive as the one on the North Circular with the spiked fence around it). Across the dual-carriage way there appears to be a Tesco, alongside other older buildings from the 1960s including what looks like a social club. There are several other newish buildings in the vicinity with accommodation and retail space, however all around there are large tracts of empty / cleared land within which sit the aforementioned abandoned or semi-abandoned blocks of flats.

I arrived at the centre at about 9.30am and asked the man on the door whether the box office was open – it wasn’t and he said to come back after 7pm as only 50 tickets had sold (18^th-22^nd May were all preview shows for the premiere of ‘The Parting Glass’). I got talking to the man (I think he was the front of house manager) and he confirmed my suspicions – Ballymun has been in a semi-permanent state of ‘regeneration’ for many years and every time progress is made, a recession prevents further progress (and presumably leads to a period of decline). Whilst we were standing at the door two younger people asked to use the toilets in the building and I knew immediately that the man was worried that they would be using the toilets to shoot-up so we finished our conversation and I went on my way. The man had indicated that if I took a side road off the Main Street, I would be able to access the underground car park for the social security offices which would be in use in the evening. (More of which later).

I then navigated across the northern suburbs of Dublin into St Anne’s Park where life couldn’t have been more different. The Red Stables Arts Centre is located in St Anne’s Park in the Clontarf area overlooking Bull Island. As the name would suggest, the Red Stables is a converted stable block and arts centre. I wanted to see their Bealtaine exhibition and was also curious about the Saturday Food Market which was excellent. Having purchased various extremely middle-class locally-produced / organic food items I then drove back to Castleknock via the city centre and Phoenix Park. A morning of complete contrasts.

In the afternoon, I took a train into Connolly Station and then took the DART to Howth with most of the rest of Dublin and spent a couple of hours wandering around the fishing port and sea wall. Local families trolled in the sun and foreign tourists ate seafood in the restaurants and bars. Howth is the main fishing / landing area for Dublin Bay. I will return during the week to eat oysters and drink Guinness – I returned home more quickly than would normally have been the case as I wanted to ensure that I gave myself enough time to drive back into Ballymun for the play. It was probably a good idea to leave Howth in the early evening to avoid the rush. As I left, teams of young people carrying boxes of Budweiser on their shoulders were alighting at Howth station.

At about 6.45pm, I drove back to Ballymun and navigated my way towards the underground carpark as directed previously. The side road in question leads between the building in which axis is located and what looks like a school (completely fenced in). Several other roads lead off into what presumably used to be an estate – concrete filled oil drums prevent access to further side roads and the area is dominated by very long, abandoned or semi-abandoned blocks of flats. On the other side of the oil drums, parked up against the side of one of the blocks, a group of six or seven crew-cutted lads lounged against the side of a modified Nissan, alloy wheels glinting in the evening sun. My first attempt at accessing the carpark failed as I didn’t realise that security had ‘buzzed’ me in and raised the barrier. After a second attempt I was met in the carpark by a friendly face who showed me to the lifts. Leaving the lift on the ground floor I was met by security who then pointed me on my way.

I found it very disconcerting walking around the art exhibition in axis and being able to look through the window over towards the boarded-up flats located at the rear of the centre. Having been so beholden to economic circumstance, the location in which the play was premiered has direct relevance to the core themes within ‘The Parting Glass’. As mentioned above, Ballymun is in a state of semi-perpetual regeneration (of which axis is presumably a result). The central (and only present) character in the play is Eoin (now aged 50) a Dubliner who was forced to find work in Germany in the 1980s and who returned to Dublin during the recent ‘Celtic Tiger’ period. The central connecting theme within the play is football and the heroic under achievements of the Irish National Team as they either fail to qualify for major tournaments or are knocked out having raised the hopes of the nation. Eoin is re-united with life-long friends and fellow émigrés Shane (now living in Holland) and Mick (once of New York and now in an urn clasped under Eoin’s shoulder, having been recently cremated following his untimely demise). The three life-long friends plus Eoin’s son Dieter all meet for one last time in Paris on the night of Thierry Henry’s double hand-ball and the goal by Willem Gallas which prevented Ireland from playing in this year’s World Cup. This is a fantastically funny and witty play (you do not need an in-depth knowledge of Irish sporting history or Dublin to understand it) which uses Eoin’s personal journey of emigration, vulnerable prosperity and tragedy to illustrate the dislocation and struggle of the wider Irish Diaspora – on the one hand forced to leave Ireland through economic necessity, on the other desperate to retain a sense of Irish identity and a connection to the homeland (in Eoin’s case through football – which always lets him down). When Eoin is eventually persuaded to return home, domestic tragedy combine with the wider economic malaise (he foolishly buys shares in the Allied-Irish Bank) to leave him questioning his future and continuing to question his relationship with the country which he loves but always seems to let him down. (www.axis-ballymun.ie)

I drove home through the housing estates of northern Dublin as the sun was setting on a very hot day, on the radio Jose Marino’s men became Milanese legends whilst in front of me the taxi drivers ferried groups of inebriated Dubliners from one suburb to another, presumably to avoid all of the inebriated foreigners in the centre of town.

Sunday 23^rd April (Dublin):

I spent the morning updating the blog. As previously mentioned, I had acquired a ticket to see the Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca show, which was the closing event of the Dublin Dance Festival. As it was Sunday and the trains only run every hour, I decided to walk into Dublin from the Castleknock / Blanchardstown area through Phoenix Park – very warm but very enjoyable. The Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca show is amazing and I would recommend it to anyone – it has an equal mix of dance, singing and guitar playing (the three core elements of Flamenco). The Vicar Street venue is great also – I had a seat on the balcony with an uninterrupted view.

Trip Planning

2010-04-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

The reason that I have been quiet for this last couple of weeks is that I have been finishing off one project and starting another. I have also been finalising the details of my trip.

Ireland

Winston Churchill Memorial Trust have agreed for me to travel around Ireland during the last two weeks in May for the Bealtaine Festival. For those unaware or uninitiated, the Bealtaine is the Irish national festival of creativity in later life and takes place every May. (http://bealtaine.com/) Highlights that I am already looking forward to include The Dawn Chorus events, Ink, and Serendipity. A Winston Churchill Fellow from the 2010 cohort Karin Diamond co-runs the Re-live theatre company which I may not be able to see but which also sounds great. (Karin is going to Japan for her fellowship later in the year).

USA

After a quick stop-over in UK, I am travelling around USA during June and have meetings / visits and interviews scheduled with organisations and people in Washington DC, Maryland, Woburn / Boston, New York City and California.

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/

More to follow.

Poetry and Ageing

2010-03-17T13:12:00.001-07:00

Carol Ann Duffy has collated a collection of original poems on the theme of ageing, go to:
www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/mar/13/carol-ann-duffy-poems-ageing

Also an interesting article about the ideas of John Zeisel:
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/13/alzheimers-john-zeisel

Introduction

2010-03-04T04:30:00.000-08:00

Who I Am:
My name is Tom Makin-Bell. I currently live in Norfolk UK. For the last ten years I have worked for various charities providing services for older people in UK. My specialism is the development of partnerships and services for the benefit of older people. I have recently started working on a freelance basis for a range of organisations.

What I Am Doing On The Internet:

I have always had an interest in arts and creativity. In February 2010, I was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travel Fellowship to travel to Ireland and USA to investigate the provision of arts and creative activities for older people. My wish is to better understand the differences in policy, research, funding, development and delivery of arts and creative activities for older people between UK, Ireland and USA. My investigation will be summarised and published in a report via Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.

Arts, Creativity and Older People:

Currently within UK, there are a growing number of organisations, projects and services which exist to support creativity, creative activities and arts amongst older people. A recent report published by The Baring Foundation entitled 'Ageing Artfully' (www.baringfoundation.org.uk) served to provide an overall picture of the variety and scope of activity in UK and discussed the main areas for future development. Within the report, reference was made to the Bealtaine festival of creativity in later life which takes place every May in Ireland and a number of practitioner, advocacy and government organisations in USA were also highlighted. I believe that by further investigating this area of work within Ireland and USA that I will be able to inform the agenda surrounding arts and creativity in later life within UK. I therefore intend to visit many of the organisations mentioned within 'Ageing Artfully' to understand the differences in policy, research, funding, decision-making, development and delivery of arts and creative activities for older people. My trip will take place within May and June 2010 and my report will be published thereafter.

My Background:
I graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 1998 with a BA (Hons) Degree in Fine Art (2:1). I have subsequently worked in the voluntary and community sector in both paid and voluntary roles for the last ten years. I have been a Regional Development Officer for two separate organisations over the last five years specialising in the development of new initiatives, projects and partnerships for older people and their carers. I am now working on a freelance basis and my current contract is with SeaChange Arts in Great Yarmouth where I have been helping to coordinate their 'Creative Learning Journey' project - an informal adult creative learning project funded by the National Institute of Continuing Adult Education (NIACE). I am also a Trustee / Director of the Griffon Partnership, a 'Local Area Partnership' working within North Walsham and the surrounding areas as well as an advisor to Dementia Adventure - a nascent national social enterprise being developed by Clore Fellow Neil Mapes.

SeaChange Arts: www.seachangearts.org.uk
SeaChange Arts 'Out There' Festival: www.outtherefestival.com
National Institute of Adult Continuing Education / Transformation Fund: www.transformationfund.org.uk
Griffon Partnership: www.griffon.org.uk
Dementia Adventure: www.dementiaadventure.co.uk

What Will Happen In The Future:

I will be keeping this blog updated throughout my travels. I plan to keep this blog going following my return in order to keep everyone informed of future developments. The organisations which I will be visiting are all innovative whether in terms of their research, advocacy, business-models or the creativity which they develop. I believe that the findings of my investigation will inform future debates and developments pertaining to creativity in later life agenda in UK.

And Finally:
This trip has only been made possible due to the fact that Winston Churchill Memorial Trust deemed my Fellowship application to be worthy of support. I would like to whole-heartedly thank the organisation and its Trustees for awarding me with a Travel Fellowship for 2010.

Winston Churchill Memorial Trust: www.wcmt.org.uk