NAPA conference: focus on creativity
At a lively conference in London in June, held to celebrate NAPA’s 25th year and national programme Arts in Care Homes, a wide variety of speakers shared ideas and experience of encouraging creativity and meaningful engagement in activity.
Keynote speaker Jackie Pool, QCS Dementia Care Champion, focused attention on the words ‘meaningful’ and ‘engagement’, suggesting we should ask, for each resident: Is it relevant and in context for me? Does it give me a sense of purpose? Does it make me feel relevant and social meaningful? Familiar functional objects are important, she said, and people with dementia need visual and environmental cues, for example being in the kitchen for a baking activity.
Isobel Jones of Alive described an intergenerational project linking schoolchildren and care home residents, that ran successfully through Covid lockdowns and reduced feelings of isolation for all involved.
The National Day of Arts in Care Homes will take place on 24 September 2022.