Healthcare Context
176 results
Case Studies (43 results)
Case Studies
Bridging the Imagination
Visual artist Sharon Dipity collaborated with a group of older people in Skibbereen Community Hospital in 2022 to explore task-based performance art around the theme of bridges, supported by an Arts Council Agility Award. The award afforded Sharon vital time for experimentation as part of sustaining creativity in long-term participatory practice.
Case Studies
Dance Bualadh Bos
Dance Bualadh Bos is a creative performance project, led by dance artists Ailish Claffey and Philippa Donnellan, and developed for and with older age communities in County Kildare. The project culminated in the creation of an original dance performance, presented privately to participants and to public audiences.
Case Studies
Young Music Graduates Introduction to Music in Healthcare Project
The Music in Healthcare Young Graduates project was developed by Music & Health Ireland, the leading Irish training organisation in the field. The project connects recently graduated musicians to training and mentorship, new skill sets, competences and professional best practice in the field of Arts & Health.
Case Studies
Past Times Community Choir & Voices of Spring
Past Times and Voices of Spring are two large community choirs in Kildare welcoming older people, including those living with dementia and other age-related illnesses. The choirs are supported by Kildare County Council Arts Service and have been directed by Sharon Murphy and Sadhbh O’Sullivan since January 2015.
Case Studies
Creative Movement Workshops in County Wexford Day Centres
Dance artist Vivian Brodie Hayes details the methods and learnings from delivering standalone creative movement workshops to older people across 11 day care centres in County Wexford, supported by Creative Ireland’s Age Friendly Programme and Wexford County Council Arts Department.
Case Studies
Yes, But Do You Care?
A transdisciplinary arts project exploring dementia family care-giving and Ireland’s new capacity legislation. Initiated and led by visual artist Marie Brett, working with dance artist and choreographer Philip Connaughton and members of the Dementia Carers Campaign Network.
Case Studies
Training Notes – Music & Health Training in Ireland
Training Notes is a training initiative of Kids Classics, Ireland's leading music in healthcare organisation. Kids Classics has developed a framework of bespoke training courses which includes introductory workshops, supervised apprenticeships and team mentoring.
Case Studies
Some Dance to Remember
Some Dance to Remember is an inclusive dance research project using adaptive Irish céilí dance and traditional Irish music for people living with dementia and their professional carers.
Case Studies
Waterford Residential Care Centre: Per Cent for Art Commission
Artists Conall Cary and Peter McMorris were commissioned to create artworks for Waterford Residential Care Centre under the Per Cent for Art Scheme. The commission was managed by Waterford Healing Arts Trust and involved participation from staff and service users.
Case Studies
Time in Our Lives
Time in Our Lives is a series of limited-edition illustrated books designed to engage participants and staff in creative conversation and art making during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Case Studies
Art and hope in a time of Covid
Gairdín Mhuire is a day care centre for older people located in Dingle. Úna Ní Shé has worked there as a visual artist since 2003. Úna describes her evolving response as an artist to the closure of Gairdín Mhuire to all normal activities in March 2020.
Case Studies
Embrace Music
Founded by musicians and Arts & Health practitioners Sharon Murphy and Sadhbh O’Sullivan, Embrace Music is a social enterprise on a mission to provide far-reaching opportunities for engaging with music.
Case Studies
Freedom to Fly | Creative Enquiry – Arts and Older People
Freedom to Fly, hosted by MusicAlive, is an interdisciplinary, participatory project that engages older people in collaboration with Helga Deasy (choreographer and dancer) and Susan McManamon (musician and choir leader).
Case Studies
The Museum of Song Postal Project
The Museum of Song is a song collecting project, co-created by artists Tess Leak and Sharon Whooley, that is delivered via the postal service. Part of the Arts for Health Partnership Programme, West Cork, it was adapted in response to the isolation of older residents in community hospitals during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Case Studies
Cúram
Cúram is a four person exhibition by artists Daniel Chester, Cherry Dowling, Amy McGovern and Stephen Rennicks. The artists, based in the environs of County Sligo, had artistic encounters within the realm of healthcare for older people. They were invited to make work responding to that experience.
Case Studies
Songwriting with older people in care settings
Klawitter Theatre Group delivered songwriting projects with older people who visit the day care facilities at Henrietta Older Peoples Service and with residents in Belmont House Nursing Home, both based in Dublin, from June 2018 until December 2019.
Case Studies
The Songbirds
The Songbirds is a piece of theatre researched and written by playwright Guy Le Jeune examining the experiences of people living with dementia, and their primary carers.
Case Studies
OFFSET
OFFSET was an intergenerational print project in 2019 involving participants in Paediatrics and Care for the Elderly at Galway University Hospitals and staff from the wider hospital community.
Case Studies
Memory is Grey
Memory is Grey is a body of work based on artist Gillian Cussen’s experience as a person and as an art facilitator with people who have some form of memory loss (and their loved ones).
Case Studies
Irish Aphasia Theatre
Irish Aphasia Theatre (IAT) is a socially engaged theatre and arts and health company working in professional theatre, community and health settings. IAT works with participants who have aphasia and/or acquired brain injuries related to ageing conditions and other brain traumas.
Case Studies
Stories from the Well-Field
Stories from the Well-Field is an interactive performance created by a group of residents in St. Joseph’s Unit, Bantry General Hospital in collaboration with artist Tess Leak, puppeteer Eoin Lynch and composer Justin Grounds.
Case Studies
The New Wing
Castlebar-born visual artist Bryan Gerard Duffy was awarded one of the HSE Percent for Art Scheme Commissions in the Sacred Heart Hospital, Castlebar as part of the new wing development in the residential home. Over five months, he collaborated with staff, visitors, and service users of the hospital, with the old dancehall days in Ireland as the starting point for conversations.
Case Studies
Orchard Stories: A Bealtaine Artist Residency
Visual artist Joanna Hopkins was awarded the inaugural Bealtaine Artist in Residence in a Care Setting in 2017. Over four months, Joanna collaborated with residents of Orchard Day Care Centre in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, using the sensory garden as both a starting point for conversation and as a source for artmaking.
Case Studies
Open Gallery
Open Gallery is an art project developed in 2018 by Waterford Healing Arts Trust (WHAT) which invites people living with dementia – and their family members / carers – to look at, discuss and enjoy paintings from the University Hospital Waterford (UHW) Art Collection in a safe and welcoming space, supported by professional artists.
Case Studies
‘Got It?’
What is the best way to clearly communicate necessary healthcare information? 'Got It?' is a health literacy project by collaborative artists Rowena Keaveny and Julie Spollen, created in partnership with Anam Beo arts and health organisation and Offaly’s Public Participation Network.
Case Studies
110 Skibbereen Girls
In 2018, artist Toma McCullim worked with the residents, staff and visitors of Skibbereen Hospital Campus on a collaborative art project to create a bronze public sculpture for the Hospital Grounds.
Case Studies
Can You See What I See?
Caroline Hyland is an artist in residence at Tallaght University Hospital (TUH). ‘Can You See What I See?’ is a series of paintings by Caroline strongly informed by listening to people with dementia and to those that support them, their families, friends and the medical professions.
Case Studies
Well Festival of Arts and Wellbeing
Well Festival of Arts and Wellbeing in Waterford celebrates the health benefits of participation in the arts and features a programme of free, fun, inventive and sociable arts events for all ages, across all artforms.
Case Studies
Pathway
Pathway is a collaborative Per Cent for Art commission between residents of Nazareth Care Village in Sligo and artists Catherine Fanning and Brigitta Varadi. Twelve sculptural ceramic artworks were designed and made for the grounds of the Care Village.
Case Studies
Parachute in the Purse
Artist Sarah Ruttle led a collaboration with artists Tess Leak, Liz Clark and Colm Rooney to ‘imagine an Ireland of the future’ with the older residents and staff of two West Cork Community Hospitals over a three-month period in 2016.
Case Studies
It’s not the size of the candle but the brightness of its light
Visual artist Louise Manifold was commissioned to develop participatory artwork on the theme of active citizenship in older people as part of the Burning Bright programme. In 2013/14, Louise worked across three different care settings in Galway City and County.
Case Studies
Fuse programme for older people – creative movement projects
Fuse is a multi-disciplinary arts and health programme for older people, managed by MusicAlive and funded by the HSE. As part of Fuse, dance artist Helga Deasy facilitated a series of creative movement projects in locations around Cork city and county including St Finbarr’s Hospital, St Luke’s Home, Oaklodge Nursing Home and Ballyphehane Day Care Centre.
Case Studies
These Tangled Threads
These Tangled Threads was an investigation that reflected on the condition of dementia by artist Toma McCullim. The work was developed during a ten-week studio residency at Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre and resulted in a site-specific installation shown at Uillinn in 2015 during the Skibbereen Arts Festival.
Case Studies
15 Miles
15 Miles is a Per Cent for Art commission at St. Brendan's Nursing Home in Loughrea, County Galway. In 2013, Galway County Public Arts Office commissioned artist Ceara Conway to produce a photographic participatory-based project.
Case Studies
Lifesongs
The Lifesongs project aims to bring to life memories, reflections and feelings of older people through a combination of theatre, humour, spontaneous music-making and songwriting.
Case Studies
Azure at St Gabriel’s
In 2014, Butler Gallery was awarded a grant to extend its Azure programme with people living with dementia in Kilkenny. Residents of St Gabriel’s Ward in St Canice’s Hospital were invited to engage with and respond to work from Butler Gallery’s Permanent Collection with a trained arts facilitator.
Case Studies
Wise Ways
Wise Ways was a participatory arts project with older people, originating at Raheen Hospital in County Clare. A unique collection of handmade artworks in clay and personal memories or stories were created and exhibited at participating venues.
Case Studies
E.gress
E.gress is an audio-visual filmic artwork resulting from a regional and multi-sited collaborative project between artist Marie Brett, musician Kevin O’Shanahan and The Alzheimer Society of Ireland.
Case Studies
Creative Exchanges
Creative Exchanges is a course developed by Age & Opportunity for anyone leading creative activities with older people in care settings.
Case Studies
Participatory music-making at St. Joseph’s Care Centre
Musician Eamon Sweeney facilitated participatory music-making sessions for residential and daycare clients of St. Joseph's Centre, South County Dublin, in 2012-2013. The centre provides holistic care for older people who have illnesses associated with ageing, primarily people with a diagnosis of dementia.
Case Studies
Encounters, Triskel@St.Finbarr’s
Encounters was a collaboration between Triskel Arts Centre and St. Finbarr’s Hospital, a multidisciplinary hospital site. The collaboration formed part of the arts and health strand of Cork EU Capital of Culture 2005.
Case Studies
Lifting the Spirits
Music programmes for older people in residential and day care settings
Case Studies
Ian Wilson, Composer in Residence in the Stroke Unit, AMNCH, Dublin
Ian Wilson, Composer in Residence in the Stroke Unit of the Adelaide and Meath Hospital in 2010, developed a new composition based on conversations with staff and patients of the unit.
Directory (2 results)
Directory
Anam Beo
Anam Beo is an independent arts organisation that delivers an Arts-in-Health Programme in Offaly.
Directory
Music & Health Ireland
Music & Health Ireland (formerly Kids Classics) is a not for profit limited company that delivers high quality professional music workshops, performances and music participation opportunities in the heart of healthcare, education and community settings nationally regardless of a person’s social, economic or medical circumstance.
Perspectives (5 results)
Perspectives
Wellbeing and the Museum: Inclusive art programming in a changing world
Providing inclusive art experiences for older people within and outside of the museum walls is integral to the Irish Museum of Modern Art’s Engagement & Learning Programme. Helen O’Donoghue and Bairbre-Ann Harkin reflect on the development of remotely accessible art programmes for older audiences during the pandemic and spearheading initiatives that speak to people’s needs in a changing world.
Perspectives
Time to Unite and Take Action: Managing an Arts and Health Programme during COVID-19
Diary entry 20th March 2020: ‘So much change around the world – every day, every minute’.
Perspectives
When you asked us to look: The world of Open Gallery
Delivering an art project in an acute setting for people with dementia and other age-related conditions can bring unique rewards and challenges. This podcast explores the Open Gallery art viewing programme at University Hospital Waterford from the viewpoint of the healthcare staff, artists and participants involved.
Perspectives
The Value of Collaboration: Reflections on the implementation of the Per Cent for Art Scheme in a community nursing unit
As the Director of Nursing of a HSE community nursing unit for older people, I believe that residents should be able to live their lives to the full with opportunities for personal development and enrichment through connections to the wider community.
Perspectives
It’s not you, it’s me
Kildare Arts Officer, Lucina Russell, argues for the place of arts and health practice as an integral part of a local authority arts programme, and describes how her own recent experience of healthcare has deepened her appreciation for this field of work.
Podcasts (4 results)
Podcasts
The Arts & Ageing Podcast
What Next? tells the story of four artists who worked with older people on a project that broke the mould. Their stories are told through the Arts and Ageing Podcast series.
Podcasts
When you asked us to look: The world of Open Gallery
Delivering an art project in an acute setting for people with dementia and other age-related conditions can bring unique rewards and challenges. This podcast explores the Open Gallery art viewing programme at University Hospital Waterford from the viewpoint of the healthcare staff, artists and participants involved.
Podcasts
Sharon Murphy and Carolann Courtney: Singing and Health – A choir for people with dementia
The National Centre for Arts and Health at Tallaght University Hospital presented the seminar ‘Music and Health: Promoting excellence in practice’ in 2015.
Podcasts
Symphony of the Sea
A collaboration between musician and composer Justin Grounds, visual artist Tess Leak and participants of Clonakilty Community Hospital, as part of the West Cork Arts Centre-managed Arts for Health Partnership Programme, inspired by the everyday seaside activity of beach combing.
Videos (13 results)
Videos
Webinar recording – Inclusive methods of arts engagement for older people in long stay care
Are you interested in developing age-appropriate and inclusive arts activities with artists for older people in your service? This webinar explores different arts approaches, current arts programming, and resources for health and social care professionals.
Videos
Webinar recording – Developing arts programmes for older people in long stay care
Practical guidance for healthcare managers on developing and implementing arts programming for older people in long stay care.
Videos
Dance and Health: Carolann Courtney in conversation with Philippa Donnellan, Shann Morris and Irene Kelly
Dance and health practice is explored through personal insights into Age & Opportunity’s Artist in Residence in a Care Setting initiative at Naas Day Centre which took place against the backdrop of the pandemic in 2021.
Videos
The Making of Yes, But Do You Care?
Yes, But Do You Care? is a body of cross-disciplinary art works created by visual artist Marie Brett and choreographer / dancer Philip Connaughton in collaboration with members of the Dementia Carers Campaign Network.
Videos
Waterford Residential Care Centre: Publicart.ie Video Series
How do artists create and install art in a healthcare setting and have meaningful engagement with patients and staff? A publicart.ie video exploring artworks created by Conall Cary and Peter McMorris for the Waterford Residential Care Centre as part of a Per Cent for Art commission.
Videos
Public Art in Healthcare: Claire Meaney in conversation with George O’Neill and Conall Cary
The joys and challenges of Per Cent for Art Scheme commissioning in healthcare settings are explored in this online conversation featuring Claire Meaney, Director of Waterford Healing Arts Trust, George O’Neill, Project Manager for HSE Estates in the South East, and artist Conall Cary.
Videos
Lán De Cheol
A short film by Sean Phair documenting the Freedom to Fly project with Mayfield Men’s Shed. This project took place as part of Creative Enquiry – Arts and Older People, an investigative collaborative venture looking at barriers to participation in the arts for older people.
Videos
In Conversation: Tess Leak and Sarah Cairns – New Pathways to Connect
Artist Tess Leak and Activities Director Sarah Cairns from Bantry General Hospital explore the learning from the remote delivery of The Museum of Song Postal Project.
Videos
The Sea, Is grá geal mo chroí
A poetic reflection on life on the West Cork coast as remembered by the residents of Clonakilty Community Hospital.
Videos
Stories from the Well-Field
Artist Tess Leak collaborated with a group of residents in St. Joseph’s Unit, Bantry General Hospital, puppeteer Eoin Lynch and composer Justin Grounds to create Stories from the Well-Field, bringing to life residents' poems about enduring childhood friendships. Awarded the 2018 artsandhealth.ie documentation bursary.
Videos
The Rhinestone Cowboy Sessions present SIVE
The Rhinestone Cowboy Sessions are a series of live recorded sessions with surprise music artists and Past Times Community Choir, a choir supporting people living with dementia, their families, friends and communities in Co. Kildare.
Videos
The Rhinestone Cowboy Sessions present Charlie McGettigan
The Rhinestone Cowboy Sessions are a series of live recorded sessions with surprise music artists and Past Times Community Choir, a choir supporting people living with dementia, their families, friends and communities in Co. Kildare.
Videos
The Museum of Making and Mending
Following nearly 15 years of working with artists from West Cork and further afield, a group of people attending Skibbereen Day Care Centre decided to create their own museum at Uillinn Gallery in Skibbereen in 2016.
Guidelines (7 results)
Guidelines
Arts & Creative Charter for Older People
The Arts & Creative Charter for Older People sets out the arts sector’s commitment to promoting key values and guiding principles in engaging with older people.
Guidelines
A Toolkit for Arts & Creativity in Care Settings
Age & Opportunity's Toolkit for Arts & Creativity in Care Settings is designed for use by managers and staff, in particular care setting creative activity co-ordinators, as well as non-arts professionals interested in arts in care contexts.
Guidelines
Dementia & Imagination: Research Informed Approaches to Visual Arts Programmes
This handbook is a set of useful ideas and recommendations that come from a robust research project setting out some foundations for developing visual arts projects with and for people affected by dementia.
Guidelines
Good practice in the design of homes and living spaces for people with dementia and sight loss
These guidelines are based on findings from a study which aimed to assess the research evidence around what works well for visually impaired people with dementia in terms of the design of their homes and the things in them.
Guidelines
Health Building Note: Dementia-friendly Health and Social Care Environments
A set of design principles for dementia-friendly environments in healthcare buildings.
Guidelines
Age & Opportunity Guidelines for Working with Older People in the Arts
A resource for Bealtaine Festival organisers and others involved in the arts and older people.
Guidelines
Working Creatively with Older People: A practical guide
A practical guide for working creatively with older people.
Policies & Strategies (6 results)
Policies & Strategies
Arts for Health Partnership Programme West Cork: Strategic Plan 2023-2028
The Arts for Health Partnership Programme provides year-round cultural and creative activities for residents of community hospitals, older people attending day care centres, and their family carers across West Cork.
Policies & Strategies
The National Positive Ageing Strategy
The National Positive Ageing Strategy is a commitment in the Programme for Government, outlining Ireland's vision for ageing and older people and the national goals and objectives required to promote positive ageing.
Policies & Strategies
Arts for Health Partnership Programme West Cork Strategy 2017-2020
Arts for Health is a partnership programme based in West Cork implementing a managed arts programme for older people in healthcare settings, embedded into the community hospitals and day care services.
Policies & Strategies
The Irish National Dementia Strategy
This strategy sets out to improve the lives of people with dementia in Ireland.
Policies & Strategies
Arts for Health Partnership Programme West Cork Strategy 2013 – 2016 flyer
A flyer detailing the strategy of Arts for Health, a managed arts programme for older people in healthcare settings, embedded into the community hospitals and day care services in West Cork.
Policies & Strategies
Arts for Health Partnership Programme West Cork Strategy 2013 – 2016
The strategy of Arts for Health, a managed arts programme for older people in healthcare settings, embedded into the community hospitals and day care services.
Research & Evaluation (20 results)
Research & Evaluation
An Evaluation of Tea Chats & Tunes Music Residency
Tea, Chats & Tunes is a collaborative partnership aimed at connecting residents in nursing homes with their families through the power of music. The programme is delivered by Music & Health Ireland. This evaluation highlights the importance of its person-centred approach in strengthening social connections and enhancing the wellbeing of residents.
Research & Evaluation
An Evaluation of Music in Health Workshops Delivered by Music & Health Ireland
This evaluation report sheds light on the impact of staff workshops facilitated as part of the Musicians-On-Call programme in 2022. The report focuses on the ‘Introduction to Music in Healthcare for Healthcare Staff’, exploring the possibilities of supporting staff to learn creative approaches used by professionally trained healthcare musicians to help residents in engaging purposefully with music in their daily care roles.
Research & Evaluation
Creative activity in the ageing population: Findings from Wave 6 of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing
Older adults in Ireland who participate in arts, creative and cultural activities report higher quality of life and lower levels of depression, stress, worry and loneliness, according to this report from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) at Trinity College Dublin.
Research & Evaluation
Making Modern Art Accessible: An Outcome Report on the IMMA Art & Ageing Programme
The Irish Museum of Modern Art launched Art & Ageing, an inclusive art programme, in autumn 2020 to help older adults and people living with dementia to combat the social side effects of the global pandemic. This report contains a programme overview, key findings and qualitative feedback collected from stakeholders.
Research & Evaluation
Discoveries in Distanced Arts: The work, wonder, and wear of Entelechy Arts’ Staying Connected Programmes – Practice Report
This practice report, based on research led by Entelechy Arts and Queen Mary University of London, shares learning on how to develop remote arts programmes for older adults.
Research & Evaluation
Arts and Creativity in Later Life: Implications for Health and Wellbeing in Older Adults. A Systematic Evidence Review.
This report provides an overview of a systematic evidence review to develop a better understanding of what the evidence tells us about the role arts and creativity plays in older people’s health and wellbeing.
Research & Evaluation
Creative activity in the ageing population
This report presents findings on creative activity participation among older adults in Ireland using data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) at Trinity College Dublin, a nationally representative study of community dwelling adults aged 50 years or older in Ireland.
Research & Evaluation
Evaluation of Care Hubs of Arts and Creative Excellence Initiative
The Care Hubs of Arts Excellence are an initiative of Age & Opportunity’s Arts Programme. This independent evaluation focuses on the process of implementing the Care Hubs and the impact of the initiative, including the creation of new knowledge of the arts in care settings for older people.
Research & Evaluation
Creative Enquiry: Artist Residency and Older People Engagement Project
Creative Enquiry - Arts and Older People is an investigative collaborative venture that creatively explores fresh approaches to arts engagement with older people and advances best practice models.
Research & Evaluation
Live Music in Care: The Impact of Music Interventions for People Living and Working in Care Home Settings
Live Music Now in partnership with MHA (Methodist Homes), the Orders of St John Care Trust and Winchester University led an enquiry to explore whether weekly music sessions, provided for staff and residents in care homes, support the care home environment to be a place where residents and staff are happy to live and work.
Research & Evaluation
Exploring the theoretical foundations of visual art programmes for people living with dementia
This paper explores how and why visual art interventions in dementia care influence changes in outcomes.
Research & Evaluation
Strength in Networks (UK)
A comparative analysis of six creative interventions designed for people diagnosed with dementia across England and Wales.
Research & Evaluation
Narratives of health and illness: Arts-based research capturing the lived experience of dementia
This paper presents three artists’ residencies in a geriatric medicine unit in a teaching hospital.
Research & Evaluation
Aesthetic deprivation: the role of aesthetics for older patients in hospital (PhD thesis)
This thesis was submitted by Hilary Moss towards the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Medical Gerontology, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin in 2014.
Research & Evaluation
Hospitalization and Aesthetic Health in Older Adults
This study assesses the impact of hospitalization on arts engagement among older people and perceptions of whether hospitals are aesthetically deprived environments.
Research & Evaluation
Aesthetic Deprivation: the role of the arts for older people in hospital (PhD Summary)
A summary of a PhD conducted at Trinity College Dublin School of Medicine under the supervision of Prof Des O’Neill and Dr Claire Donnellan.
Research & Evaluation
The aesthetic and cultural interests of patients attending an acute hospital – a phenomenological study
This qualitative study explores the aesthetic and cultural pursuits of older patients in hospital.
Research & Evaluation
Azure: Exploring greater inclusion of people with dementia in museums and galleries in Ireland
A pilot evaluation of the Azure project at the Butler Gallery, Kilkenny.
Research & Evaluation
MUSIC IN HEALTHCARE PROJECT: EVALUATION REPORT PHASE TWO
A report of the second phase of the evaluation of the Music in Healthcare Project, a partnership between Music Network and the Midland Health Board.
Research & Evaluation
Age & Opportunity Evaluation Arts in Care Settings Project
This report summarises the findings of an evaluation of the Arts in Care Settings Project.
Articles & Documentation (7 results)
Articles & Documentation
Wherever you go: Learnings from an emerging arts and health practice by Áine Rose Connell
Áine Rose Connell, a visual artist and poet, brings her background as a Speech and Language Therapist and her experience of collaborative poetry making to bear in Wherever you go, a written exploration of her emerging arts and health practice.
Articles & Documentation
Reading between the lines
Reading between the lines is a reflective report by Mary Grehan documenting a learning programme for artists called Experience: An Introduction to Arts, Health and Older People.
Articles & Documentation
Material Language: Reflections on an arts and health practice by Ciara Harrison
Arts and health practice often involves engaging with people who are far from home and familiar spaces. How does an artist create a sense of space and place, of warmth and trust, in unfamiliar territory?
Articles & Documentation
THE SINGING BODY: Personal Reflections on an Arts & Health Practice by Sadhbh O’Sullivan
Songwriter and musician Sadhbh O'Sullivan was awarded an artsandhealth.ie artist bursary in 2021 to reflect on her approach to a holistic music and health practice.
Articles & Documentation
Dance and Health: Reflections on Empowerment and Transformation by Helga Deasy
Dance artist and choreographer Helga Deasy was awarded an artsandhealth.ie artist bursary in 2020 to reflect on and interrogate her model for an empowering dance practice, specifically its applicability to her experience of working as a dancer in hospitals and care homes.
Articles & Documentation
Museum of Song Postal Project Songbook
The Museum of Song Postal Project is a song collecting project by artists Tess Leak and Sharon Whooley.
Articles & Documentation
The arts and dementia: Emerging directions for theory, research and practice
An editorial outlining current research in the area of arts and dementia featured in a special issue of 'Dementia' dedicated to the Arts and Dementia.
News (69 results)
Event
Music & Care Healthcare Staff Workshops
Music & Health Ireland will present their Music & Care Workshop Day in Limerick and Meath this September.
News
Music Speaks at Nursing Homes Week 2023
Nursing Homes Week is Ireland’s national celebration of nursing home care.
Opportunity
Call for artists – Arts and Health artist mentoring and project residency in Offaly
Anam Beo invites professional practicing artists to apply to be a part of its mentoring programme.
News
Tea, Chats & Tunes: Connecting Creativity into the heart of Nursing Home Communities
Tea, Chats & Tunes is a collaborative partnership aimed at connecting residents in nursing homes with their families through the power of music, which has yielded significant findings in a recent evaluation.
Opportunity
Introduction to Music in Healthcare and Community Settings
Music and Health Ireland, in association with Réalta, the National Body for Arts + Health in Ireland, is pleased to announce details of its forthcoming Introduction to Music in Healthcare and Community Settings training programme.
News
Music and Health Ireland presents findings on healthcare staff workshops in Older Persons Services
The Musicians-On-Call programme, initiated by Music & Health Ireland and led by Limerick Arts Office in collaboration with Age Friendly Limerick and Healthy Limerick, is designed to bring the power of music into the lives of older adults in healthcare settings.
Opportunity
Age & Opportunity invites applications from artists for the Artists Care Exchange
Age & Opportunity is seeking applications from professional artists with an interest and background in the arts and older people in a care context, to participate in the second iteration of Age & Opportunity’s professional development arts initiative, the Artists Care Exchange (ACE).
Event
The Museum of Birds and Beasts comes to Ballydehob
The Museum of Birds and Beasts has been co-created by Tess Leak and Sharon Whooley with the residents of five community hospitals in West Cork.
News
Save the Date! Experience 2023: An Introduction to Arts, Health & the Older Person
Experience 2023: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person will take place on Thursday 7 December at the Centre for Arts + Health, University Hospital Waterford.
News
Health, Education and the Arts join together to launch innovative Arts for Health strategy in West Cork
The inter-agency Arts for Health Partnership Programme in West Cork today celebrated the launch of its innovative new arts and health strategy at Schull Community Hospital with a creative twist as local musicians and artists, including Liz Clark and Eva Coyle, joined together to mark the occasion with residents, staff, and visitors.
News
The launch of IMMA Horizons: Supporting health and wellbeing across the life course
IMMA Horizons: Lifelong Creativity for the Curious, a new initiative aimed at supporting health and wellbeing through creative programmes and experiences, launched at IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) on 14 June 2023.
News
TILDA report presents findings on participation of older adults in arts activities in Ireland and associated health benefits
Older adults in Ireland who participate in arts, creative and cultural activities report higher quality of life and lower levels of depression, stress, worry and loneliness, according to a new report from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) at Trinity College Dublin.
Opportunity
Applications open: Atlantic Fellows for Equity in Brain Health 2024/25
The Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) is accepting applications for the 2024/25 Atlantic Fellows for Equity in Brain Health programme.
Event
Dementia Inclusive Gallery Tours at dlr LexIcon this May
The dementia inclusive gallery tours at dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire, are specially designed for people living with dementia, and their caregivers.
Event
Dancing with Dementia – An exploration of dance as an intervention for people with dementia
Dementia Research Network Ireland (DRNI) is hosting a webinar on 9 May exploring dance as an intervention for people with dementia.
Event
Arts for Health Bealtaine Celebrations in West Cork
Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre is hosting a range of free events for Bealtaine, Ireland’s annual festival celebrating creativity as we age, as part of the Arts for Health Partnership Programme.
Event
Bealtaine Festival 2023 – Celebrating the arts and creativity as we age
Bealtaine, Ireland’s annual festival celebrating creativity as we age, runs throughout the month of May.
Opportunity
Job opportunity: Public Engagement Assistant – Arts, Health and Older People
Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre is recruiting for the role of Public Engagement Assistant - Arts, Health and Older People.
Event
We will tell everyone! Learning about the experience of living with dementia through song
We will tell everyone! is a song written by a Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) group who have been collaborating with Lisa Kelly on her PhD research on telehealth music therapy for people living with dementia and their supporters.
Event
International Music and Ageing Seminar at MISA, St James’s Hospital
The Discipline of Medical Gerontology in the School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin, the Creative Life Hub in the Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA), St James’s Hospital, and Music & Health Ireland, in association with Bealtaine Festival, have partnered to deliver an international seminar to explore research, education and practice at the intersection between music and ageing.
Opportunity
Invitation to Tender: Artists Care Exchange (ACE) Facilitator
Age & Opportunity is seeking tenders from individuals with an interest and background in the arts and older people in a care context, to act as facilitator of the Artists Care Exchange (ACE).
Opportunity
Age & Opportunity Creative Ageing Writing Bursary 2023
The Age & Opportunity Creative Ageing Writing Bursary aims to generate discussion, debate and knowledge about the growing arts and ageing sector in Ireland.
Event
Azure Tours at Highlanes Gallery 2023: Dementia-inclusive art viewing programme
The Azure art viewing programme at Highlanes Gallery in Drogheda is designed for people living with Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and their carers.
News
Brigid, Our Spirit Stirring
A new film created by older people from Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo, Monaghan and Sligo, with artist Marie Brett, launched on 1 February 2023 to mark St Brigid's Day.
Opportunity
Bealtaine Hero and National Arts in Nursing Homes Day Awards 2023
Applications are now open for Age & Opportunity's Bealtaine Hero Award and National Arts in Nursing Homes Day Award.
Event
The Museum of Birds and Beasts at LHQ Gallery
The Museum of Birds and Beasts has been co-created by artists Tess Leak and Sharon Whooley with the residents of five community hospitals in West Cork.
Event
What’s the Story? Care Home Resident Group Exhibition at An Táin Arts Centre
What’s the Story.
Opportunity
Speed Meeting for Slow Art: Matchmaking initiative for older person organisations and artists in Clare
Speed Meeting for Slow Art is a matchmaking initiative by Age & Opportunity, providing creative networking for artists and organisations who work with older people.
News
Wherever you go: Learnings from an emerging arts and health practice by Áine Rose Connell
Áine Rose Connell, a visual artist and poet, brings her background as a Speech and Language Therapist and her experience of collaborative poetry making to bear in Wherever you go, a written exploration of her emerging arts and health practice.
Event
Spring 2023 dance classes for people with Dementia and Parkinson’s: Dance Theatre of Ireland
Dance Theatre of Ireland's dance classes for people living with Parkinson's (Dancing Well with Parkinson's) and Dementia (Movement to Music inclusive of Dementia) are now open for registration for spring 2023.
Opportunity
Call for artists with experience of inclusive arts programming – dlr Arts Office Artist Panel
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Arts Office is looking for artists / facilitators from all artform areas with experience devising and delivering workshops, to potentially work as part of dlr Lexicon Gallery’s Learning Programme and / or Youth Creative Engagement Programme.
Opportunity
Invitation to Tender – Evaluation of the Arts & Creative Charter for Older People Pilot
Age & Opportunity is seeking tenders from suitably qualified individuals or organisations to provide evaluation services for the Arts & Creative Charter for Older People Pilot Project.
News
Arts & Creative Charter for Older People
Age & Opportunity recently launched the Arts & Creative Charter for Older People, setting out the arts sector’s commitment to promoting key values and guiding principles in engaging with older people.
Event
Meet and Move for Memory: Dementia-inclusive dance workshops in Kildare
Dance artist Ailish Claffey is leading a series of free dance workshops promoting brain health for older residents of county Kildare, especially those living with dementia.
Event
Dementia and Creativity Awareness Talks at dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire
dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire is hosting a series of talks, co-ordinated by the Global Brain Health Institute, highlighting the impact and benefit of creativity in the lives of people with dementia.
Event
The Floor is Yours 2022 – Networking day for dance artists working with older people
The Floor is Yours! is a networking event for dance artists, companies and organisations working with older people, which aims to strengthen and connect the sector.
News
Mapping Arts and Health Across the Midlands: New Research Report
Mapping Arts and Health Across the Midlands is a new research report published by the Arts Office of Laois County Council and partner organisations Offaly County Council Arts Office, Westmeath County Council Arts Office, Anam Beo, Helium Arts, Music Generation (Offaly/Westmeath) and Waterford Healing Arts Trust (WHAT).
Event
Dance Bualadh Bos: Interactive dance performance created with older-age communities
Set to an evocative soundtrack, two strangers meet and journey into a world of dance with just a slice of life and a touch of drama along the way.
Event
Bealtaine Gathering 2022
The Gathering is an annual networking event for the community of event organisers, artists, partners and supporters of Age & Opportunity’s Bealtaine Festival which takes place each May and celebrates the arts and creativity as we age.
Event
Creative Carers: Arts programme for home carers in West Cork
The Arts for Health partnership programme has launched a new arts programme for home carers in West Cork.
Opportunity
Experience 2022: An Introduction to Arts, Health & the Older Person
Experience 2022: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person is an online learning programme for arts practitioners led by Age & Opportunity, Waterford Healing Arts Trust and Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre.
Event
Creative and Social Programme for Carers of People Living with Dementia
dlr Libraries are running an interactive and engaging programme this autumn specifically designed with carers in mind.
Event
Webinar for Healthcare Managers: Developing arts programmes for older people in long stay care
Taking place as part of the Expanding Arts in Healthcare programme, this webinar will offer practical guidance on developing and implementing arts programming for older people in long stay care.
Event
Webinar for HSE Staff: Inclusive methods of arts engagement for older people in long stay care
Are you interested in developing age-appropriate and inclusive arts activities with artists for older people in your service.
Opportunity
Call for artists, creative and wellbeing facilitators to work with older people in care settings
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (dlr) County Council is seeking artists, creative and wellbeing facilitators / practitioners to work with residents in residential care settings and older people attending local day care services in dlr as part of the Cuairt agus Cultúr programme.
Event
Beside the Sea at Riverbank Arts Centre
Beside the Sea is a new music performance by composer Ian Wilson, written in response to his father’s death after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.
Opportunity
Applications invited from artists to join the Artists Care Exchange (ACE)
Age & Opportunity is seeking applications from professional artists with an interest and background in the arts and older people in a care context, to participate in a new Age & Opportunity professional development arts initiative, the Artists Care Exchange (ACE).
Event
Yes, But Do You Care? Marie Brett’s film exploring the politics of care comes to Sirius Arts Centre
Artist Marie Brett’s film Yes, But Do You Care.
Event
Love in a Cold Climate: Arts and Creativity in Care in Finland – UK and Ireland Tour
In 2021, the Baring Foundation published Love in a cold climate, a report which profiled inspiring examples of arts and creativity with older people in Finland.
Event
The Road of Life: Music and Songwriting Experiences for Older People
Over this summer and autumn, older people across the country have the opportunity to take part in new creative initiatives that are being delivered by Age Friendly Ireland.
Event
Webinar: Co-creating arts for brain health – a global perspective
To mark world Alzheimer’s Month, the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) is hosting a webinar on 6 September in collaboration with Veronica Franklin Gould, president of Arts 4 Dementia.
News
A Little Unsteadily Into Light: New Dementia-Inspired Fiction
A Little Unsteadily Into Light, an anthology of 14 new short stories exploring personal experiences of dementia, will be published this September by New Island Books.
Opportunity
Research opportunity: multisensory arts-based approach to working with people with dementia
dlr Arts Office is looking for suitably qualified individuals or organisations to research, consult and collate learning from an arts-based multisensory approach to working with people with dementia.
Opportunity
Age & Opportunity: Call for expressions of interest for Artists Care Exchange (ACE) Facilitator
Age & Opportunity is seeking expressions of interest from key individuals with an interest and background in the arts and older people in a care context, to act as facilitator for a new Age & Opportunity Arts initiative, the Artists Care Exchange (ACE).
Event
Premiere of Marie Brett’s film Yes, But Do You Care? with discussion at IMMA, 21 July
IMMA presents Marie Brett's new film, Yes, But Do You Care.
Opportunity
Music in Healthcare Settings: Introductory 3-Day Course for Musicians in Meath and Louth
Music in Healthcare Settings is a three-day introductory course led by Music & Health Ireland, taking place from 26-28 August.
Event
Ageing and Creativity Seminar with Prof Colin Doherty and the Na Cailleacha Collective
Damer House Gallery is hosting a seminar on Ageing and Creativity on 16 July with keynote speakers Prof Colin Doherty, Consultant Neurologist in St James’s Hospital and Consultant in Clinical Medicine at Trinity College Dublin, and the Na Cailleacha Collective.
News
artsandhealth.ie announces recipient of documentation bursary 2022
The artsandhealth.ie documentation bursary aims to encourage high quality, creative documentation of an arts and health project.
Opportunity
Performing arts programmer sought for Bealtaine Festival
Bealtaine is Ireland’s national festival celebrating the arts and creativity as we age.
In Conversation
Video – Dance and Health: Carolann Courtney in conversation with Philippa Donnellan, Shann Morris and Irene Kelly
Dance and health practice is explored through personal insights into Age & Opportunity’s Artist in Residence in a Care Setting initiative at Naas Day Centre.
Event
A Collection of Conversations – Dementia Inclusive Exhibition at dlr LexIcon and Highlanes Gallery
From mid-June two neighbouring art galleries in Dún Laoghaire and Drogheda present ‘A Collection of Conversations’, a dementia inclusive exhibition.
Event
Ageing Artfully Going Global: International Online Conference
The coronavirus pandemic forced cultural organisations around the world to change how they engaged with older audiences.
Opportunity
Job Opportunity: Arts Programme Administrator with Age & Opportunity
Age & Opportunity is recruiting for a part-time Arts Programme Administrator.
Event
ReStorying Ageing: Older Women and Life Writing
ReStorying Ageing is a one-day webinar bringing together researchers, writers and the public to explore the diversity of women's experiences as part of Bealtaine Festival 2022.
Event
Celebrating Bealtaine with Arts for Health in West Cork
Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre is celebrating Bealtaine Festival this May with an array of free events at the centre, online, and around the parks of West Cork. As part of the celebration, the Arts for Health partnership programme, which is managed by Uillinn, is bringing arts experiences to older people in care settings across West Cork.
Event
An Open Door for Bealtaine in West Cork
An Open Door for Bealtaine is an informal musical gathering presented by 49 North Street in association with MusicAlive and the Skibbereen Family Resource Centre.
Event
The Ballad of a Care Centre at Riverbank Arts Centre
The Ballad of a Care Centre is a visual art and audio installation by Kildare artist John Conway which is being exhibited as part of Bealtaine Festival 2022.
Event
Bealtaine Festival 2022 – Celebrating the arts and creativity as we age
Bealtaine, Ireland's annual festival celebrating creativity as we age, is back with a bang in May 2022.
News
Material Language: Reflections on an arts and health practice by Ciara Harrison
Arts and health practice often involves engaging with people who are far from home and familiar spaces: encounters by the hospital bedside, in a communal room with others we have never have met, or increasingly in the virtual realm where we try to read each other across a screen of faces.
