Background: Research reviews highlight methodological limitations and gaps in the evidence base for the arts in dementia care. In response, we developed a 12-week visual art program and evaluated the impact on people living with dementia through a mixed-methods longitudinal investigation.

Despite the growing international innovations for visual arts interventions in dementia care, limited attention has been paid to their theoretical basis. In response, this paper explores how and why visual art interventions in dementia care influence changes in outcomes. The theory building process consists of a realist review of primary research on visual art programmes. This aims to uncover what works, for whom, how, why and in what circumstances. We undertook a qualitative exploration of stakeholder perspectives of art programmes, and then synthesised these two pieces of work alongside broader theory to produce a conceptual framework for intervention development, further research and practice. This suggests effective programmes are realised through essential attributes of two key conditions (provocative and stimulating aesthetic experience; dynamic and responsive artistic practice). These conditions are important for cognitive, social and individual responses, leading to benefits for people with early to more advanced dementia. This work represents a starting point at identifying theories of change for arts interventions, and for further research to critically examine, refine and strengthen the evidence base for the arts in dementia care. Understanding the theoretical basis of interventions is important for service development, evaluation and implementation.

Creative outputs engage the public and can be used to share research. This paper reports on public engagement activities that were part of the research project Dementia and Imagination (D&I). We found that artwork and creative activities effectively engaged a range of audiences and challenged negative ideas about dementia. For the project team, public engagement developed relationships with collaborators and connected the research to different community settings, influencing future programmes of work. Further work could explore public engagement in diverse settings to assess which approaches are effective in maximising research value and wider community benefit.

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Immersive theatres have emerged since the turn of the millennium as a popular form of performance. Intricate and elaborate, they interweave playfulness into the relationship between performer, audience, and performance space. Discussion of immersive theatres has largely focussed on a selection of urban theatre companies who have acquired reputations as the forerunners in the field. On the periphery, other practitioners and companies have been developing immersive methodologies within theatre that are, as yet, largely undocumented within this scholarship. This paper contributes to the widening of this discussion by considering the work of Iwan Brioc and his sensory labyrinth theatre (s.l.t). It explores s.l.t within the context of North Wales, referencing its influences from Columbian theatre director Enrique Vargas's work on the "poetics of the senses" (Teatro de los Sentidos n.d., n. pag.). In doing so, it expands the current conceptualisation of immersive theatres, and in broadening the work being examined within this field, focuses on the transformative potential of the work discussed.