Applications have opened for Experience 2025: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person. This half-day learning programme for artists and arts practitioners of all disciplines takes place online this year, on Thursday 4 December, from 2pm-5.30pm Experience 2025 will aim to 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, including Keynote Speaker Dr Anne Basting. Experience 2025 is presented by Age & Opportunity, the national organisation working to enhance wellbeing for older people, and Réalta, the national resource organisation dedicated to developing arts + health in Ireland. Further details below. Places are limited to 30 and cost €10.00 each and will be allocated to suitably qualified/ experienced individuals on a first come, first served basis. Experience 2025 is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE.
This is the fifth year of Experience, which was devised in 2021 in response to the need for more training and practical orientation for artists and arts practitioners of all disciplines who already have experience of participatory work in a health context, and who are interested in developing their practice to include working with older people. Participants over the last four years have described the programme as “tangible, well-paced, relevant”; “profoundly encouraging and inspiring”, “refreshing and far-reaching”; “calm and inclusive”; “full of great advice and ideas”; and “so well put together, beyond what I imagined,” with people highlighting the expertise and passion of the speakers, and the opportunity to interact with fellow artists.
In a programme which strives once again to be inspiring and pragmatic, participants will gain an overview of approaches and ways of thinking in this rewarding area of work, practical information and advice for different art forms and disciplines, valuable insight from artists, healthcare professionals and arts + health managers, and opportunities to share ideas and build contacts with their peers.
Keynote speaker Dr Anne Basting (PhD) is a writer, artist and advocate for the power of creativity to transform lives. Emerita Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Dr Basting is the founder of TimeSlips, which trains caregivers to unlock the meaning and joy in care of the older person. Her speaking, writing, and large-scale public performances have helped shape an international movement to, in her words, “extend creative and meaningful expression from childhood, where it is expected, through late life, where it has been too long withheld”. Dr Basting is the author of numerous articles and books, including Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Elder and Dementia Care.
In addition to Dr Basting, the exciting line-up of contributors also includes artist Toma McCullim; dance artist Catherine Donnelly; Healthcare musician, trainer and mentor Liam Merriman; Writer Margaret Galvin; and dementia specialist Sarah Cairns. There will also be contributions from Dr Tara Byrne (Age & Opportunity) and Claire Meaney (Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts).
Announcing details of Experience 2025, Dr Tara Byrne, Arts Programme Manager with Age & Opportunity, said “As Age & Opportunity and Réalta continue to deepen and enrich the Experience programme, we’re particularly thrilled to welcome Dr Anne Basting as our Keynote Speaker this year. As the founder of the TimeSlips approach, she is a true pioneer whose innovative programme exemplifies the power of brave and creative thinking to transform lives. Delivering Experience online this year gives us the opportunity to have Dr Basting join us from the US, and also to reach artists engaged in arts, health and the older person wherever they are based in Ireland. This specialised and increasingly vital area of work deserves the greatest of intention and care, and we look forward to presenting a programme which will support artists to continue to strive to develop and enhance their practice.”
Claire Meaney, Director of Réalta, added “Connecting and supporting each other to reflect and find ways to improve is central to our arts and health work, so we’re delighted to have secured so many vastly experienced people from healthcare and artistic backgrounds to share their practice, knowledge and insight in relation to working with older people. Feedback from Experience participants each year has been consistently and universally positive, which is tremendously heartening. This is an incredibly rewarding area of work, so we’re looking forward to bringing all of this year’s participants and speakers together, and to having an inspiring and energising Experience 2025. Our sincere thanks to our funders, the Arts Council and the HSE, for their ongoing support.”
APPLICATION INFORMATION:
Places for Experience 2025: An Introduction to Arts, Health & Older People, which takes place on Thursday 4 December, cost €10.00, and are open to professional artists and arts practitioners of all disciplines with experience/ interest in participatory arts work in a health context.
Places are limited in order to make this a valuable experience for all participants, and will be allocated to suitably qualified/experienced artists/individuals on a first come, first served basis.
Those interested in participating should email arts@ageandopportunity.ie with the following details:
– Expression of interest: Why you would like to participate in this programme and how it will benefit your practice. (50-100 words)
– Summary of participatory work to date. Please include any experience you may have had working with older people. (50-100 words)
– Your CV/resume showing your arts practice and arts participation experience
Please note: The latest date for applying to participate is Friday 28 November but, as places are being allocated to suitably qualified/experienced individuals/artists on a first come, first served basis, all places may be filled by the deadline.
Image Credit:
Participant Yvonne Jackman and artist Caroline Schofield at the Art at the Kitchen Table Studio, a Waterford Healing Arts programme, managed by Réalta. Photo by DGM Photographic.
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Additional info:
PROGRAMME PARTNERS:
– Age & Opportunity is the national organisation working to enhance wellbeing for older people through participation in sport and physical activity, arts and creative engagement, personal development, community collaboration and active citizenship. We envision a society where all older people can be active, visible, creative, connected and confident about ageing. One of our key priorities is to amplify the voice of older people and influence policy development through research, evaluation and deliberative public engagement. We work with local communities and organisations across the country to run a range of programmes and activities in three key areas: the arts, physical activity and life-long learning.
www.ageandopportunity.ie/arts/
Réalta is the national resource organisation dedicated to developing arts + health in Ireland. Through its national programme, Réalta delivers training; provides information, mentoring and advice; supports networking; engages with the HSE and other policy makers to increase understanding and support for arts + health; and provides the encyclopaedic national resource website artsandhealth.ie. At local level, Réalta delivers its extensive Waterford Healing Arts programmes, which bring music, visual art, creative writing and storytelling to patients at University Hospital Waterford and other healthcare settings to promote creativity, connection and discovery, and reduce isolation, anxiety and stress for patients, family members and staff. The Waterford Healing Arts foundational programmes also provide rich examples of good practice, and research, pilot and evaluate new ideas, all of which informs Réalta’s national work. Réalta is core funded by the Arts Council and the HSE.
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