Blog: Luminate - now we are 10

It’s an exciting year for our friends at Luminate, as they celebrate 10 years of being Scotland’s creative ageing organisation. We were delighted to catch up with the team to find out about their highlights so far and hopes for the future.

Our early years were focused on our nationwide festivals, but over time our activities started to extend beyond the festival month and a steadily increasing number of events took place at other times of year. That programme is now our focus, with year-round support and projects taking place to make sure that creativity is always a part of life for older people.

We have seen over and again the way that creative activities light up lives; how they connect people no matter their age, ability, or experience. From the Wise Guys older printmakers in Inverness, to the creation of a sculpture trail in Bishopton that captures the creativity of Erskine care home residents, or the new dementia inclusive Shalder Shanty Singers recently established in Shetland - we are always inspired by the huge variety of talent we have in Scotland.

Our work has inspired others as well. Finland took our original festival format and created a similar event there and Luminate’s work has drawn attention from Ireland, the States, mainland Europe and Asia.

Our 10th anniversary follows one of the most extraordinary and distressing periods our society has faced. Covid particularly impacted older people, but we are proud of the resources we developed so that creative activities could still play their part for health and wellbeing. Our talented pool of artists created videos and kits that could be easily watched and adapted, either singly or in larger groups in care homes. Dance and movement, pottery, paper art, writing and mosaics were just some of the activities covered.

And now we are looking ahead once more, scoping out what we should do next to ensure that creative ageing is part of Scotland’s plan to be one of the best countries in which to live. We are helping older artists to keep their careers evolving, as well as using creativity to connect communities, such as our monthly LGBTI+ socials.

Looking for Heroes

We know that across Scotland there are people doing creative things that bring joy and satisfaction into the lives of so many older people. We are now looking for these heroes and are asking people to think about who they feel really embraces creative ageing within their community. We would like to celebrate their work along with our own milestone, through the Luminate Creative Ageing Awards. Details of how to nominate are on our website www.luminatescotland.org or you can phone 0131 668 8066 or email: info@luminatescotland.org.