Winner – National Dementia Care Awards 2017
We were so pleased to be announced winners of the Outstanding Arts & Creativity category in the National Dementia Care Awards 2017. We began our creative dementia work in Calderdale back in 2005 “to help develop a new, more holistic approach to person-centred dementia care.” So we are immensely proud to have won this award and to gained recognition for the past 15 years of working in this sector.
We have been developing creative projects with older people for over 15 years. The work we do is an inspirational and deeply enriching experience for everyone involved. We affect and transform the lives of older people whilst challenging perceptions about age and, in particular, dementia. The essence of our approach is to encourage people to try something new, creating experiences which are beautiful and essential.
Often there is a perception that dementia, being an ‘incurable’ or ‘difficult’ condition is filled only with anxiety and confusion, devoid of joy or fulfilment. However, what we have experienced during our creative dementia sessions is quite the opposite. It is a space where fear and anxiety can be transformed and where the present becomes new and fulfilling.
Our Soul Journey project was a collaboration between writer Paula Sutherland, photographer / filmmaker Geoff Brokate and verd de gris arts and featured original music by sound artist and composer Nina Perry. It is a poetic exploration of ageing and dementia where beauty revealed itself in the landscape of the individual. With this project, we wanted people to really engage and connect with the themes of dementia, ageing and the ‘individual’, to contribute to a shift in how we consider and present aspects of the dementia condition – we are so grateful for the judges decision to recognize the strength and the project and it’s impact.”
You can read about the project and the background to this work in a more detailed article published in the Journal of Dementia Care, available here:
https://issuu.com/jeffturner05/docs/turner_author
Winners of the National Dementia Care Awards were presented with their trophies by John Middleton at the high profile Gala Night held on Thursday 9th November at Doncaster Racecourse attended by over 400 guests.
About the Awards:
The National Dementia Care Awards is an annual event organised by The Journal of Dementia Care, a multidisciplinary journal for all professional staff working with people with dementia, in hospitals, nursing and residential care homes, day units and the community. The awards were created to recognise the very best people in the dementia care sector, whose exceptional work and contributions make better, person-centred care a reality. There were 16 categories to enter overall and there were four or five finalists in each category with two independent judges. For more information and all categories, please visit http://www.careinfo.org/dementiacareawards-2017/
