Réalta will present a webinar to introduce a new Toolkit of guidelines for setting up its highly successful Waterford Healing Arts programme Art at the Kitchen Table on Thursday 10 December at 11am. Art at the Kitchen Table is an arts participation programme for older people, delivered by professional artists, which has been running for six years throughout Waterford, managed by Réalta in partnership with Waterford City and County Council.
Webinar attendees will learn about the main findings of an independent evaluation of the programme carried out in 2025, and the key elements of the Toolkit which has been designed to support artists, arts and health practitioners, healthcare professionals and funding partners to develop the programme in their own area. The Toolkit will then be made available online to download for free. Attendance at the webinar is also free, but places must be booked in advance here.
Art at the Kitchen Table supports older people to make art in their own homes. An artist visits a person at home and they create art together: painting, drawing, collage/mixed media etc. Having completed three sessions in their home, the participant is then invited to join the Art at the Kitchen Table Studio, where they can continue their art making in a group setting. The project aims to offer participants a chance to develop a new, or re-ignite a previous interest in art, to bring joy and creativity and to impact positively on wellbeing.
A comprehensive independent evaluation carried out in 2025 by researcher Alison Cronin found that “participation in the Art at the Kitchen Table programme offers more than just an opportunity to create art; it also provides a valuable chance to re-engage with the world imaginatively, build confidence and skills in art-making, develop new social connections, and embrace the possibilities of ageing with creativity and purpose.”
Guest Speakers at the Art at the Kitchen Table Webinar will include:
– Prof John Cooke, Consultant Geriatrician and Stroke Physician at University Hospital Waterford.
– Artists Caroline Schofield and Eilis O’Toole, who deliver Art at the Kitchen Table in Waterford City and County.
– Margaret Organ, Arts Officer with Waterford City and County Council and funding partner of Art at the Kitchen Table.
– Alison Cronin, researcher and author of the Independent Evaluation of the Art at the Kitchen Table Programme.
– Maeve Butler, Assistant Director of Réalta and Programme Manager of Art at the Kitchen Table.
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
Image credit:
Helena Sinnott, Art at the Kitchen Table participant, Waterford
Photo by artist Jill Bouchier
ENDS
