ILC-UK and Newcastle University collaborated on two research to policy seminars, the first of which was held on Wednesday 26 September and focused on arts engagement and wellbeing in ageing societies.

Chaired by Paul Cann, Co-Founder of the Campaign to End Loneliness and former Chief Executive of AgeUK Oxfordshire, this seminar set out three different strands of arts and older people work with implications for Health and Social Care policy. We will discuss the contribution of cultural engagement to resilience in later life.

The first talk, from Dr. Anna Goulding, from the Institute of Health and Society at Newcastle University, interrogated how patterns of participation reinforce social hierarchies and define identities in older age, with class, gender and ethnicity influencing the contexts and outcomes of engagement. The second talk, Professor Andrew Newman, from the School of Arts and Cultures at Newcastle University, examined embedding arts enrichment activities in the Care Home. Our final talk from ILC-UK’s Research Fellow and co-author of ‘What would life be – without a song or dance, what are we?’, Sally Bowell, examined the value and benefits of music for people with dementia, whilst also looking at the important next steps which can be taken to ensure that everyone with dementia is able to access music.

View the presentation slides from the event.