A celebration of the arts

By Maria Pasiecznik Parsons, Creative Dementia Arts Network

This journal has always championed the arts in dementia care. Creative activities and arts offer people living with dementia opportunities to experience pleasure, inspiration and stimulation, express their feelings, emotions and ideas, and to socialise and maintain social connections that enhance health and wellbeing and quality of life.

This issue highlights continuity and change in creative arts. Many of the articles Sue Benson and Sally Knocker recall HERE and HERE resonate fully with the state of the arts today. Pam Schweitzer’s Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today, reminiscence arts programme (HERE) is now 30 years old and continues to be run in Europe as well as the UK.

Today we are aware of more co-production in the arts, as described by Shelley Hastings of Resonate Arts (p34), and increasing development of culturally appropriate resources for overlooked and underserved communities, as described by Carl Case of Sheffield Memory Hub (HERE) and Lizzie Ward of the House of Memories, National Museums Liverpool (HERE).

Jon Pigrem (HERE) introduces pioneering music technology while Isabelle Latham (HERE) reports on two different approaches to musical engagement of care home residents by musicians and care staff. The National Activity Providers Association (NAPA) have always championed the arts and produced some excellent resources in recent years. Finally (HERE) Dr Richard Coaten and I review the field and offer glimpses of a new Practice Handbook on creative arts and dementia we have co-edited and co-written with 25 co-authors including experts by experience, practitioners, managers and researchers.