The successful engagement of isolated older people with arts and culture: Meet me at The Albany and the initiatives that inspired this

A paper written in relation to the Local and Global Challenges unit for MA Arts and Cultural Enterprise. I have no affiliation with any of the organisations mentioned.

As the UK population continues to grow and age, with those over aged 65 equating to 18% of the population in 2016, and predicted to grow to 24.7% by 2046 (ONS, 2017), there is increased demand for local services (Cutler, 2014). There is a growing need for social and creative activities that protect good health and wellbeing (Mental Health Foundation, 2011) with creative and cultural participation found to be the highest contributor to the individuals wellbeing later in life (Age UK, 2017).

The impact of arts and cultural activities for the individual includes physical health, mental health and development of personal relationships (Cutler, 2009). In addition, there is strong evidence for societal benefits including community development and social capital (Cutler, 2009), creating positive attitudes towards older people and social cohesion (Mental Health Foundation, 2011).

There are several successful initiatives around the world that use the arts to engage isolated older people, improving their health and wellbeing. This report will specifically focus on ‘Meet me at The Albany’ (MMatA) led by Entelechy Arts in the London Borough of Lewisham, but there will also be mention of other projects that have inspired MMatA or been inspired by its success.

Meet me at The Albany was developed in 2013 when London Borough of Lewisham and Entelechy Arts asked, “What if isolated and lonely older people had the opportunity to go to an arts centre instead of a day centre?” (Entelechy Arts, 2018) which resulted in the development of creative art clubs for the over 60s, based at The Albany, an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation in Deptford, London.

The current MMatA programme features a choir, working with writers and visual arts sessions, where those over 60 are invited to attend on a Tuesday and contribute just £6 per day which includes a hot lunch (Entelechy Arts, 2018).

The most innovative initiative as part of the MMatA project is ‘Flying and Falling’, circus sessions led by Upswing which challenges perceptions of what was possible and fed into wider research about the relationship between circus and falling in older people (Amedume, 2014). Amedume worked with Newcastle University, exploring the topic “with ageing, there is an increase in the need to control movement through higher level cognitive functions (i.e. you have to think more about how you move)” and as a circus performer, movements need to become intuitive, in turn potentially making these artists less susceptible to needing to use higher level cognitive functions (Amedume, 2014). Upswing’s work with MMatA has led to similar projects in Devon and residential care homes across the UK.

The circus project is one aspect of MMatA that has also led to conversation about older people as artists. During Upswing’s initial session at MMatA, one older participant explained that she had been a dancer when she was younger and found her, now lack of, capability frustrating. The limitations of older bodies bring about discussion of what is valued and how adaptations can be made (Amedume, 2014). In addition to the social and health benefits, older people have developed circus skills, with potential to become performers themselves or contribute to the work created by other artists in the case of Vicki Amedume from Upswing (Gardner, 2014). The project encourages agency and ownership (Gardner, 2014), making their own decisions about participation and the work created.

The success of the initiative has been recognised by local decision makers, with the Lewisham public mental health and wellbeing strategy sites it as a good practice example: “Raise awareness about ways to protect mental wellbeing and connect residents in with organisations/initiatives that seek to improve mental wellbeing e.g. ‘Meet me at the Albany’” (Lewisham CCG, 2016, p17). Lewisham Council have also committed £110,000 per annum from 2016-2019, with other London Boroughs hoping the project can be rolled out to other areas and settings (DCMS, 2016).

A major inspiration for MMatA is Meet Me at MOMA, an engagement programme established in 2006 for those living with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The programme extends well beyond the museum and has developed resources for care providers and other museums (MOMA, 2018).

Internationally, ARTZ (Artists for Alzheimer’s) are supporting and collaborating with cultural institutions to “enhance the cultural and creative life of people living with dementia…lessen the stigma that often accompanies a diagnosis” (ARTZ, 2018). ARTZ also claim that their research is showing that “art experiences can significantly reduce certain psycho-behavioural symptoms so often associated with Alzheimer’s disease” (ARTZ, 2018), recently supported in the UK by the parliamentary group inquiry into arts, health and wellbeing (Gerrard, 2017).

The Valuing Older People Cultural Offer led by Manchester City Council since 2004, is another interesting initiative that has spread City wide, as part of Manchester’s work as an Age Friendly City. The partnership of 19 organisations has attracted funding of over £700,000, sharing best practice, recruiting community ambassadors to increase attendance, upskilling arts practitioners to work with older people, in addition to benefits for the venues such as increased engagement, audience development and audience income (Cutler, 2014).

From these and other examples, it is clear that the arts are now being widely recognised as a mechanism to combat health issues in older people, especially mental health. However, there are barriers1 to older people attending or participating, which led to the Family Arts Campaign2 responding with a set of ‘Age-Friendly Standards’. The standards act as a self-assessment accreditation scheme, with organisations taking action around a number of topics: build relationships, including cross-generational conversations and involving older people as decision makers rather than just audiences; consider programming, including the content and logistics being relevant without assumptions; provide appropriate facilities and evaluate accessibility; communicate appropriately; and provide a warm welcome (Family Arts Campaign, 2017). This campaign, and the success of many initiatives, should see an increased number of venues and organisations considering how they can become open to more older people engaging.

Meet me at the Albany, and similar initiatives, use the arts as a mechanism to improve the health and wellbeing of older people, reducing their need to access additional services. The programme also uses arts spaces which may be underused during the daytime. The success of these initiatives is in their intention: to engage those who are lonely, isolated, may have other health issues, with a positive and high quality experience within their own community, improving their life, even if for just one day a week!

Notes

1 There are a number of well documented physical, psychological and social barriers to participation for older people including: geography and transport links; cost; disability; lack of perceived interest or relevance (Cutler, 2009).

2 The Family Arts Campaign, who happen to be based at The Albany, is a national Sector Support Organisation funded by Arts Council England, aiming to increase engagement with arts and culture (Family Arts Campaign, 2018).

Resources

By Education, Engagement and Co-Creation, News and Ideas