Creative Journeys Report 2019

26 Creative Journeys Through the arts activities residents developed new topics of conversation, this could be directly about the activity itself but could also be through conversations which were triggered by suggestions from the arts facilitators. For example during the case study observations it was noted that the arts activities facilitated structured conversations, this could be as a result of the arts facilitators asking specific questions of the residents, or pairing people together to discuss a picture, object or idea; this technique was used by all the arts organisations. Interviews and the survey revealed that the arts themselves also then became a topic of conversation outside of the activities, along with the ideas, memories and stories from their lives that had been initiated during the activities. I saw how it affected people’s relationships when they were talking about the music or the way they’d been encouraged to be involved in the discussions about lyrics and songs or what the actual programmes would involve. For me it was really interesting to see that actually it brought in some conversation to people’s days because they do chat to each other but quite a lot of the time, because of their dementia, it can often be just nonsense really. This was a structured conversation… they were just expressing their views. (Stage one activities coordinator) Promote conversation and sharing of ideas and experiences. (Survey respondent) Further to this, interactions between participants did not just rely on verbal communication. The case study observations found that verbal communication such as conversations about the arts, sharing stories and memories, and telling jokes or teasing each other were prominent particularly in the Age Exchange and Sinfonia Viva with Orchestras Live sessions. However, more non-verbal communication was observed in the Green Candle dance activities, including facial expressions such as smiling and making eye contact across the circle, but also modelling and mirroring dance moves, and dancing together with partners. The skills that they picked up over that time were very varied, from the actual motor skills of expression and physical movement, and then, also, very creative skills. (Stage one arts facilitator) Being able to express themselves in ways that didn’t always rely on verbal communication was especially important for some of the residents with cognitive impairment, and as discussed later such responses to dance and music activities can help people to feel close to others. In the case study observations it was noted that as the sessions progressed in each home, more verbal and non-verbal interaction would happen spontaneously between residents on arrival at the session, for example waving to each other as they arrive, verbally greeting one another, asking how each other are, and helping each other to sit down or hang their handbag on their chair. There were also examples of these interactions becoming more personal over time: at the final Age Exchange session when a new resident arrived in the room one resident called out “Come and sit near me!”; at a Green Candle session, a resident was worried about what she was wearing and the resident sat next to her responded by complimenting her and saying it looked “Nice and light for the hot weather”; at another Green Candle session one resident arrived in the room and