Artists’ Residencies
We hope to foster an understanding of the value of the arts and creative activity, particularly in a care setting, and demonstrate and celebrate the positive impact of ageing creatively.
What are Artists’ Residencies?
Artists’ residencies are a key way to support artists to take time out, reflect, and potentially build a new body of work. Community-based residencies (such as care homes) also create access to the arts and nurture creativity in those communities.
How do they work?
Visual arts residency in Wexford
For a number of years visual artists across three generations have been invited to stay and work at the Cow House Studios as part of an Age & Opportunity visual arts residency. Past resident artists include: Kathy Prendergast, Richard Gorman, and Eithne Jordan and Tamsin Snow. Read more about this residency here.
Engagement Residency in Kilkenny
Age & Opportunity partners with Kilkenny Collective for Arts Talent (KCAT) each year in order to support partnerships between artists with learning disabilities and professional artists of different backgrounds and skills. KCAT is a dedicated and open-access life-long learning initiative. Engaging in arts initiatives that involve disadvantaged older people is a key objective for Age & Opportunity’s Arts programme.
Artist in Residence in a Care Setting
This initiative aims to nurture a meaningful and sustained creative engagement between an artist (or artists) and the residents, families and staff of care settings. The initiative is intended to support and widen the pool of artists working in care settings, as well as to deepen the valuing of the arts in those settings.
Watch our new video ‘Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway: An Introduction to the Arts’ which aims to further encourage arts participation in care settings using testimonial and footage from previous Age & Opportunity Arts residencies in care settings.
Bealtaine Festival, Fingal County Council and Tyrone Guthrie Centre Residency Award
In 2022 we ran two inaugural, month-long, residencies at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre during May. These residences aim to celebrate and support older artists at all stages of their careers working in literature and visual arts. Watch the in-conversation event with the 2022 recipients, Una Sealy and Thomas Brezing here. The 2023 residency award is now open for applications, read more here.
Past Residencies
Research
Artist in Residence in a Care Setting initiative research
Care Hubs of Arts & Creative Excellence initiative evaluation
How can I get involved?
Age & Opportunity offers regular residencies, funding dependent. To keep up to date on this, and all our opportunities, sign up to our newsletter at the link in the footer. For the Engagement Residency in Kilkenny, artists are directly selected by KCAT. If you are interested, please contact KCAT: info@kcat.ie.
Contact
For information or support, speak to our Arts team.
01 805 7713
arts@ageandopportunity.ie
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES: This strand aims to support the careers of older professional artists and offer them more opportunities to develop and show work.
2017 residency in the Orchard Day Centre in Blackrock, with artist Joanna Hopkins.
2018 residency in St. Joseph's, Shankill with the Fairland Artist Collective
2019 Residency Programme: 6 Nationwide Residencies
Through our mentoring and support, we facilitate the artists to work more confidently in this sensitive environment and support the care staff to consider more creative ways of approaching their work. We also hope to explore and push the boundaries in relation to opportunities for activity, creativity, visibility of older people in Ireland, a key objective in Age & opportunity’s new Strategic Plan 2018 – 2020.
The work of our artist in residence brought meaningful artistic participation to persons with dementia . Dementia can be isolating but I observed this creative engagement empower the persons with dementia and ensure their story was heard.
Arts Initiatives:
Bealtaine Festival
A month long festival in May featuring performances, exhibitions, discussions, workshops and readings by artists, and community groups, working in different art forms all over Ireland. Find out more here.
The Gathering
An event bringing together our local and national Bealtaine Festival partners for a day of networking, inspiration, discussion and feedback on the festival. Find out more.
Cultural Companions
Creates local networks of like-minded people interested in arts and culture who can accompany each other to cultural events. Find out more.
Focus Groups
We are working with a number of groups to ensure our work is collaborative and inclusive. Find out more here.
Artists’ Professional Development Training
Providing continuing professional development and training for artists’. Find out more.
Artists' Residencies
This opportunity creates access to the arts for older people in care settings as well as supporting artists working in care settings. Find out more here.
Supporting Networks and Best Practice
This initiative aims to support organisations and artists who work with older people and to promote best practice. Find out more.
Access
We are working to ensure our events and initiatives, and those outside the organisation, are as accessible as possible. Find out more.
Azure
Azure explores how people with dementia-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s, and the people who care for them, can have a deeper involvement in cultural institutions and can participate in cultural activities. Find out more.
Creative Exchanges
Training course for participants to plan and facilitate arts activities for older people in care settings. Find out more here.
Creative supports for Care Homes
We are developing creative supports for care settings in order to ensure easier access to the arts for the residents and visitors of those settings. Find out more.
Arts and Creative Charter for Older People
Our charter aims to raise the standard of arts practice in relation to older people and to create confidence in relation to participating in the arts. Find out more.
Research
We are working to ensure our programmes and initiatives are informed and driven by best practice Find out more.
Arts Initiatives:
Access
We are working to ensure our events and initiatives, and those outside the organisation, are as accessible as possible. Find out more.
Bealtaine Festival
A month long festival in May featuring performances, exhibitions, discussions, workshops and readings by artists, and community groups, working in different art forms all over Ireland. Find out more here.
Artists' Residencies
This opportunity creates access to the arts for older people in care settings as well as supporting artists working in care settings. Find out more here.
Creative Exchanges
Training Course for participants to plan and facilitate arts activities for older people in care settings. Find out more here.
Cultural Companions
Creates local networks of like-minded people interested in arts and culture who can accompany each other to cultural events. Find out more.
The Gathering
An event bringing together our local and national Bealtaine Festival partners for a day of networking, inspiration, discussion and feedback on the festival. Find out more here. Find out more.
Focus Groups
We are working with a number of groups to ensure our work is collaborative and inclusive. Find out more here.
Artists’ Professional Development Training
Providing continuing professional development and training for artists’. Find out more.
Supporting Networks and Best Practice
This initiative aims to support organisations and artists who work with older people and to promote best practice. Find out more.
Creative supports for Care Homes
We are developing creative supports for care settings in order to ensure easier access to the arts for the residents and visitors of those settings. Find out more.
Arts and Creative Charter for Older People
Our charter aims to raise the standard of arts practice in relation to older people and to create confidence in relation to participating in the arts. Find out more.
Research
We are working to ensure our programmes and initiatives are informed and driven by best practice Find out more.
We believe that, whether you are 8 or 80 years old, we all should have access and opportunities to attend and participate in the arts and to realise our creative potential. Fresh thinking, bold experimentation and creativity are all fundamental to delivering a high quality of life for older people.
Research shows that arts programmes involving music, visual arts and drama, among other activities, have a profound influence on the quality of life of older people, with positive impacts on health, psychological well-being, confidence and autonomy as well as other benefits such as:
- happiness
- mental wellbeing
- reduced stress
- improved cognition
- sense of identity and personhood
- increased self-esteem and confidence
- reduced boredom.
