We're teaming up with cultural venues across the UK and Europe to help transform access to arts for those living with dementia. Creative Age is a pioneering initiative leading the way in dementia-friendly arts sessions. Celebrating the creative abilities of those involved, venues and participants take part in weekly workshops with professional artists, led by the interests of the group.

Keeping connected during Covid-19

Throughout the pandemic, with face-to-face sesisons no longer possible, we've taken Creative Age online. Participants have been keeping connected and creative with weekly artist-led sessions.

For those not able to access online support, we have monthly Create at Home packs going out to 200+ homes and organisations each month and filled with a variety of arts activities.  

Create at Home packs (Issues 1 to 11) are also available for individuals here in our shop.

Dementia and Creativity

Creative Age is a huge step forward for the North East in terms of providing arts provision for those with dementia, their families and carers.

Figures show the number of people living with dementia in the North East is set to rise to more than 40,000 this year. There is a growing understanding that creativity is intact long after other cognitive functions decline.

Creative Age sessions are inclusive, friendly and focus on people’s imagination and ideas. They are about what the individual can do now, in a particular moment.

We believe Creative Age is an ideal opportunity to encourage arts venues in the North East to widen their offer for people with dementia.

"Being creative has made me realise that when you get down this is the sort of thing you should be doing and I had stopped because I wasn’t well."
"Instead I was concerned about remembering to keep things tidy and not forgetting how you do things. Now I know if there is something you like doing, that is more important. It has helped me turn back to the things I used to enjoy. I had just stopped but now I have that enthusiasm back."Joycelyn Grieves, 81, Creative Age participant at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland.

Training

We provide our Dementia & Imagination training to support improved communication for those working with and welcoming people living with dementia and their care-givers.

The interactive and engaging half-day training (currently delivered online) is ideal for creative practitioners and artists and staff within cultural and community venues in contact with the public.

Offering an interactive and active learning approach, the training provides participants with an understanding of the Imagination Model in engaging with people living with dementia, and the confidence to create inclusive, dementia-friendly creative opportunities that are 'inspired by imagination'.

You can book onto our latest training here.