Applications open for Experience 2026: An Introduction to Arts, Health & the Older Person
Keynote Speaker Regius Professor Rose Anne Kenny
Applications are open for Experience 2026: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person, which will take place on Thursday 03 December from 10am-5pm at The LAB, Foley St, Dublin 1. This full day of inspiration and learning is designed for professional artists and arts practitioners of all disciplines interested in this area. Experience 2026 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, including Keynote Speaker Regius Professor Rose Anne Kenny. Experience 2026 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 20 and cost €30.00 each, including lunch. The application deadline is Friday 23 October. Experience 2026 is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE, with support from Dublin City Council.
This is the sixth 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 five years have described the programme as “a fantastic workshop and learning opportunity”, “I really got a lot out of it”, “very inspiring”, “insightful”, “really valuable”; “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, relevant 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 insights from artists, healthcare professionals and arts + health managers, and opportunities to share ideas and build contacts with their peers.
Keynote speaker Rose Anne Kenny is Regius Professor of Physic* (Medicine) and holds the Chair of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin. She is the founding Principal Investigator of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), Ireland’s largest adult population study on the experience of ageing in Ireland, and the bestselling author of Age Proof – The New Science of Living a Longer and Healthier Life. Regius Kenny is the Director of the Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA) at St James’s Hospital, where she is also director of a large national falls and syncope and autonomic function laboratory. In addition, she is Director of the recently established WHO Collaborating Centre for Longitudinal Studies in Ageing and the Life Course. A Member of the Royal Irish Academy and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, London and Ireland, Regius Kenny is also a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin, a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine Ireland, and was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
The exciting line-up of contributors also includes musician Sadhbh O’Sullivan of Embrace Music; visual artist and dementia adviser Gillian Cussen; Brian Dooney of Age & Opportunity; theatre maker Maud Hendricks of Outlandish Theatre; visual artist Caroline Schofield; collaborative artist and facilitator Luci Kershaw; dance artist Mia DiChiaro and Macushla Dance Club 50+. There will also be contributions from Dr Tara Byrne (Age & Opportunity) and Claire Meaney (Réalta).
Announcing details of Experience 2026, 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 very excited to welcome Regius Professor Rose Anne Kenny as our Keynote Speaker this year. As the dynamic visionary of the TILDA Study, Rose Anne is a true trailblazer, not only mapping the way we live our lives as we get older, but also interpreting and presenting the findings in ways that prompt us to explore how to live more fulfilling and meaningful lives, across the life course. The arts play a vital role in this context, and we look forward to presenting a programme which will support artists to continue to strive to develop and enhance their practice with older people.”
Claire Meaney, Director of Réalta, added “Bringing artists, arts practitioners and healthcare professionals together to meet, support and inspire each other is at the heart of our arts and health work, so we’re delighted to have secured so many vastly experienced people to share their practice, knowledge and insight in relation to working with older people. This is an incredibly rewarding area of work, and we’re looking forward to having a stimulating and empowering Experience 2026. Our sincere thanks to our funders, the Arts Council and the HSE, and to Dublin City Council for their support with Experience 2026.”
APPLICATION INFORMATION:
Places for Experience 2026: An Introduction to Arts, Health & Older People, which takes place on Thursday 3 December, cost €30, 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 they will be allocated to suitably qualified/experienced artists/individuals, as determined through the submission process.
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 Thursday 23 October.
Image Credit:
Participants Helena Sinnott and Roger Green at a Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts Art at the Kitchen Table Studio session in Waterford. Photo by DGM Photographic.
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. Réalta seeks to increase understanding and support for arts and health, and to embed the arts into healthcare provision in Ireland through training programmes; providing information, mentoring and advice; supporting networking; and engaging with the HSE and other policy makers. Réalta manages the Waterford Healing Arts programmes at University Hospital Waterford and other healthcare settings, and the national resource website artsandhealth.ie Réalta is core funded by the Arts Council and the HSE.
For further information:
Réalta’s national work: www.realta.ie
Waterford Healing Arts programmes: www.waterfordhealingarts.com
All about Arts + Health: www.artsandhealth.ie
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