Drawn Together
Arts Council England funded, Drawn Together is our bold and responsive artist training and mentoring initiative to better address the needs of diverse audiences and underrepresented people aged 55+.
Beginning this autumn through to August 2025, Drawn Together is a combination of training modules, peer and partner networking, shadowing opportunities and creative commissions.
The course is open to creative practitioners across the North East interested in working with older people in a range of care, cultural and community settings.
Email us at information@equalarts.org.uk to register your interest.
Dementia & Imagination Training
Join our Dementia & Imagination Training workshops. Ideal for anyone interested in working with or supporting people living with dementia. Sessions can be booked on Eventbrite, or we can design a bespoke session to meet your staff/family needs. The workshop will help you:
- Gain an understanding of the effects of Dementia
- Support a user-led approach to developing and delivering inclusive, dementia-friendly creative opportunities
- Recognise the power and importance of multi-sensory exploration and engagement
- Use creativity and improvised storytelling in communication approaches
- Find time for reflection to adapt toolkits and approaches to meet the needs of people you are working with.
Book your creative training with Equal Arts
Contact usRecipes for Creative Care Training
The guide is a whole home approach and training is required to ensure the recipe cards are used to their full potential. Our training sessions can be delivered during staff meetings and cost £435, with five recipe card packs, each containing 33 resources, included.
Training includes:
- Evidence-base regarding how creativity is intact when cognitive functioning diminishes.
- Suggestions for use of cards with people with different levels of dementia.
- Exploring a multi-sensory approach to everyday life – how to connect without using words.
- Time to reflect on how best to share the knowledge gained about individual residents.
Gateshead's Creativity Ageing Network
Supported by the Tyne and Wear Care Alliance, our professional artists provide training sessions which deliver a whole home approach.
"I watch how they get everyone to take part. They start from the group and then invite the quieter people to give their views. It's very relevant, inspiring.”
Our training builds on the workforce development project “Room for the Imagination” and enables care staff to learn creative communication skills from artists.
The aim of the our network is to spread good practice. We support activities co-ordinators and other care staff, highlighting the importance of creative activity in everyday life within care settings. The network helps build confidence, skills and creative approaches to enrich the lives of residents.
The creative sessions look at creative approaches involving music, dance, storytelling (TimeSlips model) and multi-sensory visual arts. We look at how to involve other local cultural organisations to support good practice including intergenerational work.
Activity provision and supporting participation is endorsed within the care standards framework and inspection processes in the UK. Engagement of older adults and adults with dementia in participatory arts can help improve cognitive functioning, communication, self-esteem, enjoyment of life, memory and creative thinking by providing opportunities for meaningful social contact. (Remington 2002, Holmes et al, 2006)
The Tyne & Wear Care Alliance are responsible for publicising the Network meetings to all the appropriate care homes, encouraging attendance and booking in attendees and supporting the events.
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