Sustainable Creative Practice with Older People: A Collaborative Approach between Arts and Care Sectors

Abstract

Interprofessional working is common practice within the health and care sector and particularly within care homes to support the diverse needs of their residents. However, this is less common between the arts and care sectors despite the established impact of the arts on older people’s health, wellbeing, and quality of life. Arts activities that do take place in care homes tend to be time-bound, with artists utilising short-term funding to deliver a defined project often with limited engagement from care home staff due to their competing priorities. This article reflects on qualitative findings from the Artists’ Residencies in Care Homes (ARCH) programme led by Magic Me, which paired four leading arts organisations with four care homes in Essex who worked together over four years to deliver creative arts for the residents. Building trusted relationships and collaborative working between the artists and care home staff was essential for the success of the residencies and for generating and embedding sustainable creative practice in the homes. This article argues that for creative practice to become sustainably embedded in care homes, arts organisations and the arts and culture sector need to embrace interprofessional collaborative practice in health and social care.