Creative Journeys Report 2019

24 Creative Journeys All of the homes provided activities that could be considered participatory, but it is also interesting to note that there were a variety of ‘other’ activities described by the respondents as arts activities. These included: cooking, quizzes, gardening, face-painting, hat making, visits to shops and garden centres, visits by animals, participation in a local community carnival and support at gyms and libraries. Some of these may be thought of as cultural activities rather than the ‘arts’ per se. The interviews in stage two followed up on the points raised in the case studies and survey to explore in more depth the range of activities provided in residential care homes. It was again reported that homes provided a variety of arts and cultural activities to cater for the different interests, needs, and preferences of both residents and staff. Activities included professional singers performing, arts and craft activities to celebrate special occasions (e.g. the royal wedding, Christmas), knitting, reminiscence, and more. Music was the most commonly utilised art form across homes. Additionally the importance of arts activities for a purpose was mentioned, for example making a card for an occasion, or knitting to make a blanket. Supporting the findings from the survey, in the stage two interviews, bingo, animal visits, quizzes, going to a pub or tea room, visits to shops and garden centres, cooking, and gardening were all described as arts and cultural activities which took place in the homes. From this data it can be seen that a wide range of activities are provided across residential care settings in Essex, but it also raises a question as to what is considered to be an arts and cultural activity? Raymond Williams in the APPG (2017) Creative Health report described culture as “a whole way of life within which the arts are a process of discovery and creative effort” (p.19). If we adopt this position then all the activities listed are indeed cultural activities. The issue then becomes how broadly can participatory arts activities be defined? The Arts Council England definition given above specifies that participatory arts are collaborative, but the research team debated one case where one of the residents interviewed described how she wrote poetry on her own but she wrote about what activities were going on in the home. The poetry communicated her thoughts and feelings to staff members, and the poems were shared with others throughout the home. So although the resident wrote in the privacy of her own room, she used others as well as her own experiences as the basis of her poetry, suggesting a level of collaboration and participation. In one of the homes where the stage two interviews took place, the activities described were primarily passive (e.g. watching a music performance) and staff and residents alike perceived that residents wouldn’t be able to carry out more active arts participation. Likewise, in the survey a few homes cited a lack of capacity as a reason as to why residents did not take an active role. There was sometimes a discrepancy between staff and resident interviews, with residents citing fewer activities. However, residents may not see the things they do as structured formal activities as it is part of living there, their everyday life. In the following sections we explore the impact of participating in arts activities on the relationships between residents, between residents and staff, and between residents and the wider community. This is followed by consideration of the key mediating factors involved in facilitating arts activities in a care home context to be able to support relationship building and reduce loneliness and social isolation of older people.