Creativity and Wellbeing Week 2023

Monday 15th May - Sunday 21st May 2023 marks the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance and London Arts and Health's Creativity and Wellbeing Week. Launched in 2012, the week of events celebrates the benefits of arts activities designed to promote wellbeing. Therefore, it’s a great opportunity to showcase the ways in which we use creative activities and pursuits as part of our mission to help older people in the borough ‘Age Well in Wandsworth’, as well as introducing our brand new series of workshops for South Asian Heritage Month.

Creativity at the Gwynneth Morgan Day Centre

Crafts

Our amazing day centre staff host daily group creative activities for service users who wish to join in, including colouring and papercraft. We love a celebration at the day centre, so often our activities are themed – whether it’s Christmas or the Coronation, it can help our service users to feel more engaged in the outside world and in the day centre community, especially when their artwork or crafts are displayed for their peers to see. It’s great for physical health, as it’s a fun way to maintain fine motor skills, which can decline with age, as well as offering new ways for service users to express themselves.

Music

Click here to watch our reels from our music groups - they are very popular with clients and staff alike! Service users, who can, are encouraged to move, sing and dance, which can help to relieve chronic pain, improve or maintain physical skills, and improve mood. Plus, music is a fantastic way to stimulate the senses for those with dementia; familiar songs can bring comfort and aid reminiscence.

Personalised activities

Our staff also work to personalise creative activities where group sessions may not be appropriate for an older person's needs. For example, some service users at the centre with dementia enjoy engaging with music but find the group sessions to be too overwhelming. To combat this, our team set up a tablet and headphones with predownloaded music, so that they can listen to their favourite songs whenever they like. Clients who have their own knitting or other craft projects at home often bring these in, too.

To find out more about the Gwynneth Morgan Day Centre, click here.

NEW - Men's Art Workshops starting 30th May

We're very excited to be offering a brand new set of creative activities for South Asian Heritage Month in partnership with Wandsworth Council. It's a great opportunity for older men in the borough from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka to express their creative sides and tell stories through painting and drawing. Once the artwork is complete, our Roehampton Community Shed members will assist in creating frames. All pieces will then go on display to the public at our day centre during South Asian Heritage Month (18th July-17th August). Sessions will take place at the Gwynneth Morgan Day Centre and Roehampton Community Shed. All materials are provided, however, we cannot provide transport. To book a place or find out more information, please call 020 8877 8947 or email outreach@ageukwandsworth.org.uk.