Posted Aug 1, 2024
Save the Date: Experience 2024, An Introduction to Arts, Health & the Older Person takes place on Thursday 5 December at Limerick City Gallery of Art. Designed for arts practitioners interested in this area, over the course of the day, Experience 2024 will outline the essential elements involved in working with older people in an arts and health context, and will feature presentations by some of the most experienced and inspiring practitioners working in this specialised field of practice. Experience 2024 is presented by Age & Opportunity, the national organisation working to enable the best quality of life for us all as we age, and Réalta, the national resource organisation dedicated to developing arts + health in Ireland. Expressions of interest may be registered by email to arts@ageandopportunity.ie The full programme and booking information will be published at the end of September on www.ageandopportunity.ie and www.realta.ie Experience 2024: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE, and supported by Limerick City and County Council. Image Credit: Participant Kitty McGarry and artist Eilis O’Toole at a Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts Art at the Kitchen Table Studio in Dungarvan, County Waterford, during the Well Festival of Arts and Wellbeing 2024. Photo by DGM Photographic....
Posted Jul 15, 2024
Medicine will meet music at the Irish Doctors Orchestra’s special Fundraising Concert to take place at the SETU Arena on Sunday 29 September at 4.30pm. All proceeds from the concert will go to the Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts programmes at University Hospital Waterford. Under the baton of well-known Waterford musician and conductor Liam Daly, the concert will feature music from the opera Maritana by Waterford composer William Wallace, Concerto in F major for Two Bassoons by Johann Baptist Vanhal and Symphony No. 7 by Antonin Dvorak, in addition to a traditional Irish element, courtesy of the Waterford Harp Ensemble of Music Generation Waterford. Tickets (€20/€10/€5) are now on sale. To book, click here Announcing details of the concert, Dr Julia O’Leary from the Irish Doctors Orchestra said “We are very excited to be performing at the SETU Arena in September and we’re especially thrilled to be performing Maritana by William Wallace in his home place of Waterford. We’re also delighted to be joined by young musicians from the Waterford Harp Ensemble of Music Generation Waterford for this concert. The Irish Doctors Orchestra is a unique gathering of medics who love to play classical music and what better purpose could there be than to raise funds for the fantastic organisation that is Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts. Many of our medical colleagues have told us about the wonderful work of the Waterford Healing Arts programme at UHW, easing patients’ worries through the arts, and softening the clinical space with the hospital’s stunning art collection. This is a perfect fit for us and we can’t wait to perform in Waterford.” Claire Meaney, Director of...
Posted Jul 4, 2024
Réalta, the national resource organisation dedicated to developing arts + health in Ireland, is seeking tenders from suitably qualified individuals or organisations to undertake an independent evaluation of the Waterford Healing Arts Art at the Kitchen Table programme. The deadline for receipt of completed applications is Tuesday 6 August 2024. Further details are available here. Art at the Kitchen Table supports older people living in Waterford City and County, who might not otherwise have access to the arts, to make art in their own homes. The artist visits a person in their own home and they create art together – painting, drawing and collage/mixed media. The programme offers the older person the opportunity to develop a new, or reignite a previous interest in art. It also brings joy, creativity and connection and impacts positively on the person’s wellbeing and quality of life. No experience is required by the participant, simply an interest in making art. Having completed three sessions with the artist at home, the participant is then invited to join one of the Art at the Kitchen Table Studios, in Dungarvan or Waterford. These supportive group settings provide an opportunity for each person to continue their art making and to enjoy the additional benefits of participation with others, thereby making an important step into society. Developed by Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts, Art at the Kitchen Table is delivered in partnership with Waterford City and County Council. Speaking at the announcement of the Open Call, Claire Meaney, Director of Réalta, said “To date, the Art at the Kitchen Table programme has been evaluated on an ongoing basis internally within Réalta. ...
Posted Jul 2, 2024
Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts is currently recruiting an Assistant Art Curator to join its team under the Community Employment Scheme. The Assistant Art Curator will assist with the management of the University Hospital Waterford (UHW) Art Collection, and the planning, organising and installing of new exhibitions at the hospital. This role offers a great opportunity to anyone interested in visual art to gain valuable experience in presenting artworks in a hospital setting. Applicants must be eligible for Community Employment and applications should be submitted by email only to info@realta.ie The deadline for receipt of applications is 6 August 2024 at 5pm. A full job description is available here. The Art Collection has been central to the work of Waterford Healing Arts since its inception and, over the last 31 years, has grown to over 600 works on display at the hospital. Managed by Waterford Healing Arts, the permanent Art Collection transforms the hospital building from a sterile, institutional space to a more colourful, human place, full of paintings and other artworks, which lifts the spirits of patients, family members and staff. In addition, Waterford Healing Arts curates an engaging and exciting programme of temporary exhibitions at the hospital, offering patients, families and staff the opportunity to experience inspiring and thought-provoking contemporary art. Announcing details of the recruitment drive, Claire Meaney, Director of Réalta/ Waterford Healing Arts, said “The Assistant Art Curator at University Hospital Waterford is an important member of our team. The role involves liaising with various departments within the hospital, and working with our Project Co-ordinator/Curator and Art Installer to ensure the Art Collection is maintained and presented...
Posted Mar 22, 2024
As part of Experience 2023: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person, an in-person learning programme which took place at Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts Centre for Arts + Health in December, writer, actor and activist Noelle Brown was commissioned to participate, observe and write a reflection on the day. This reflection is available here: Experience 2023 Reflection by Noelle Brown Experience 2023 was presented by Réalta and Age & Opportunity, and was kindly funded by the Arts Council and the HSE. Further info is available here IMAGE: Dr Lucy Pollock, Consultant Geriatrician and author of ‘The Book About Getting Older’, speaking at Experience 2023. Photo by Keith...
