Age Exchange - The Cente for Reminiscence Arts
For those of you who are keen to look at how you can use creative reminiscence in your work the course run by Age Exchange is a good one to do, facilitated by Linsay Royan we were given a great overview of the use of reminiscence within care environment and came away with lots of ideas and links to resources that could enhance any session, or as a carer ways in which you can engage the person you care for.
It was surprising how effective the workshop was, and how many memories that can come flooding back when you see objects from your childhood - standard things that you either played with like the skipping rope which all generations can relate to and other items which pass down the generations. Funnily enough I still have a game called Jacks also known as (Knucklebones) from when I was younger, which you only seem to see now in memory boxes.
My Jacks from teenage years
I have also shared in my Material Mondays the crochet hooks that my mother used to use when I was a child and which I now use in my own projects.Material Mondays - Crochet Hooks and Wool
Those who attended the course also got to pool resources and share ideas that they have found effective. The Age Exchange venue is a great place to visit, founded in 1983 works with older people to improve their quality of life, which impacts on their health and well being. They provide a range of opportunities that related to reminiscence using art projects, exhibitions and more. They have an inter-generation program that has been doing a lot of work with schools, colleges and universities sharing their expertise in reminiscence, which is important for the younger generation to stay connected to older generation and see the wisdom, knowledge and understanding they have as valued members of society.The 2 day course was well organised and informative and gave me a wealth of ideas to take forward with my own work as an artist and as a carer for my mother with dementia. I do encourage you to check them out and see where memory lane takes you!
Do let me know if you are working within Arts and Health, and perhaps you want to join my free Arts in Healthcare network which is updated with events, news and you could even highlight some of your own work