Two men stand in a corridor opposite an older woman who is sitting down. They are smiling. One of the men is holding an accordion.

(not) lovely: Enacting solidarity in dementia care through participatory Arts

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Dr Chloé Bradwell is a drama practitioner and aerialist. She has long been one of our associate artists and her expertise spans care, art, and academia. She uses circus, drama, dance, and visual arts to collaborate with care home residents and people living with dementia. She is also a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Dementia Research at Leeds Beckett University. Her work focuses on integrating creativity into daily dementia care and using co-creation to foster community connections for care home residents.

Two women wearing masks dance together. One woman is kneeling in front of an older woman, who is in a wheelchair. They are holding hands.

Elaine and Shakti dance at the old Elephant and Castle shopping mall in Memory and Place

She recently wrote an article about our Walking Through Walls programme at Tower Bridge Care Home. It argues that using creativity to channel and re-frame negative emotions can be game changing in dementia care and challenges the notion that negative emotions must be suppressed to promote wellbeing. You can read her powerful article below.

 

Read Chloé’s article here

 

There is bunting on the ceiling. A man in an orange t-shirt raises his arms in the air. An older woman wearing a red bowler hat raises her arms in the air. They are singing.

Rainer and Diane sing at the Walking Through Walls Summer Party, Tower Bridge Care Home, 2024

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