There will be a full listing of all the wonderful dementia organisations who came to share in the performance event at Manchester Cathedral on this page soon. You can see who they are by clicking on the event programme here and scrolling to the back So Many Beauties Programme.
Representatives from the following organisations gave of their time to chat to members of the audience and participant performers. They also created display stands to showcase their services.
Salford Institute for Dementia, Manchester Camerata, All About Dementia, Dementia Pathfinders, Dementia Havens, Dementia UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Limon Attire, Stroke Association, CMFT, University of Manchester Dementia and Ageing Research Team.
Weblinks will be available soon and massive thanks to everyone.
This links page is under construction and is not a comprehensive listing.
Reports / Research
LAHF have been working with partners in Liverpool supported by Dementia Connect. This has been to develop a new arts-based tool for people to use when they receive a diagnosis of dementia. As part of this work they have collaborated with the researcher Frances Williams who has looked at arts projects targeting the period immediately after a dementia diagnosis. This under-developed area of arts and health practice has revealed some interesting learning and challenges in delivery and the research identifies opportunities for improving practice. The research has now been published here.
Click to access Strength%20in%20Networks%20Final%20Report.pdf
Organisations / training providers
A choir in every care home
Launched in May 2015, A Choir in Every Care Home is an ambitious initiative to explore how music and singing can feature regularly in care homes across the country. Funded and initiated by the Baring Foundation, it is a unique collaboration between 35 leading national organisations from the worlds of adult social care, music and healthcare research. It is being led by three major organisations in the field: Live Music Now, which provides national leadership for musicians working in the care sector; Sound Sense, the UK professional association for community music; and the Sidney De Haan Research Centre, providing cutting edge research on the medical and social impacts of singing.
https://achoirineverycarehome.wordpress.com
You can find a range of useful resources around music making with older people at
https://achoirineverycarehome.wordpress.com/resources/key-handbooks/
Music and Memory
MUSIC & MEMORY® is a non-profit organization that brings personalized music into the lives of the elderly or infirm through digital music technology, vastly improving quality of life.
They train nursing home staff and other elder care professionals, as well as family caregivers, how to create and provide personalized playlists using iPods/MP3 Players and related digital audio systems that enable those struggling with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other cognitive and physical challenges to reconnect with the world through music-triggered memories.
By providing access and education, and by creating a network of MUSIC & MEMORY® Certified organizations, they aim to make this form of personalized therapeutic music a standard of care throughout the health care industry.
Click here to visit their website
Created out of Mind
http://www.createdoutofmind.org
Created Out of Mind is a team aiming to explore, challenge and shape perceptions and understanding of dementias through science and the creative arts. The team will explore what dementia means to us all, challenge traditional definitions and common misconceptions, and unlock what we can learn about art, consciousness and the brain from the experiences of people living with different the dementias.
Opera and dementia
In 2010 Opera Group devised and performed an opera called The Lion’s Face around Alzheimer’s which drew on the expertise of scientists and researchers. You can find information here;
https://thelionsface.wordpress.com
Theatre and dementia
Spare Tyre have developed an immersive theatre piece for care facilities to bring the outside world inside.
Using poetry
A project in America initiated by poet Gary Glazner with whom I had the privilege of working in December 2014 on my tour to New York. You can find useful videos and resources here.
A toolkit created by the UK organisation Courtyard which provides helpful resources for using poetry with people with Dementia
Click to access CY-poetry-toolkit-small.pdf
Raising awareness
Films made by Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital to raise awareness amongst staff about Dementia
Arts and Dementia
Manchester Metropolitan University’s Dementia and Imagination project with associated research findings and a wonderful gallery of photographs, film and resources;
http://dementiaandimagination.org.uk
A study on the work undertaken by Royal Holloway University found that the creative engagement offered in RADIQL practice improved the wellbeing of participants by 42% and increased positive behaviour by 25%. It also highlighted recommendations for improving practice including different approaches to working with and training care staff and the need to have effective exit strategies in place so people are not built up and then let down as a project finishes. Really interesting reading;
Click to access RADIQL%20RHUL%20Final%20Report.pdf
Dementia Communication Training
Happy Returns – training in REAL communication with people living with dementia
Access the blog at the link below
https://theagepage.typepad.com
Music for Health interesting links
A discussion around the use of music in medical treatments, including the use of music in Stroke Rehabilitation and Intensive Care
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2016-08-17/new-use-of-music-in-medical-treatments
Song resources
This site details loads of old classic songs with links to lots of different recordings of each song across the ages. It is great if you are looking for inspiration about songs to choose for working with older people. You can see how an old song has travelled in time across different artists and therefore test its relevance to a broader age group.
https://songbook1.wordpress.com
Alive inside
creative music making with diverse communities 