3December 2019
We held a social evening for our Creative Befrienders at the RAM, with the opportunity to explore creative games, share learning and experiences.
We started a new project for family carers at the V & A, which will include a session for young carers with artist Sam Haynes to explore their identity as carers. The participants, who are charged with learning new ways of using the museum’s collections in their caring, will have their questions answered over afternoon tea with Admiral nurses and Attachment theory specialist and carer Kate White; get their own bespoke tours of the collections; and create artwork with artists Seiwa Cunningham and Zoe Gilmour as starting points for work at home with their loved ones.
November
We were thrilled to host two successful training days for our Creative and Cultural Befrienders programmes. We were joined by a number of artists across theatre, visual arts and music who are all keen to be matched with individuals living in the community.
We had a great start to our Music for Thought project, offering four workshops exploring the theme of the sky. There were plenty of solos played on the drums, as well as dancing and singing.
October
We had a lovely start to Autumn with our Silver Sunday event at the Wallace Collection in partnership with Wigmore Hall and the Royal Academy of Music (RAM). Participants experienced a tour led by professional artist Sara, and then took park in a music making workshop with musicians and students from the RAM. It was a pleasure to also listen to improvised performances in the gallery, performed in response to the paintings!
We are delighted to have begun our Music for Thought project in the lovely surroundings of Bay 20 community centre in Ladbroke Grove. Participants from across the borough of Kensington and Chelsea are coming together for eight weeks for music making, singing and lyric writing. The project is offered in collaboration with the RAM and students from their Open Academy and Fellowship programmes, and Wigmore Hall’s Music for Life musicians.
September
This month we have been delighted to share ideas about the work with some Japanese research colleagues and also the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. It was the first Music for the Moment concert of the season at St Marylebone church. As we move into Autumn we celebrate with three exciting Creative Befriending matches, watch this space for developments! We are recruiting or Creative and Cultural Befrienders, for more information and how to apply.
August
This month we were delighted to host our Summer Soiree at the beautiful St Cuthbert’s Centre. We were thrilled to be joined by two classically trained singers, Sam and Tom who had joined us for our Opera for Thought project. The afternoon was attended by 70 guests who enjoyed delicious home-made cake, entertainment and corsage making.
We have also been very busy meeting with individuals across Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, in addition to hosting two events as part of a consultation process in partnership with the council. These conversations will help inform the bi-borough dementia strategy, of which the final report will be published later this year. Special thank you to RIBA and Westminster Cathedral for hosting our events and the wonderful Terezie Wickenden, Westminster’s Dementia Advisor for all her support as part of the consultations.
July
This month we completed our 12 week Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) project at the Victoria and Albert museum. Each week the sessions were based around a different theme such as childhood, holidays and money. Participants had the opportunity to meet with a range of guest curators in addition to visiting different areas of the museum such as the National Art Library.
June
June began with a lovely open rehearsal of our Singing with Friends group at Wigmore Hall. It was great to see individuals come together to sing a variety of music and the morning included an opportunity to sing on the Wigmore Hall stage.
We have had a brilliant time over May and June working in partnership with the Young Artists from Opera Holland Park in exploring Un ballo in maschera. Participants enjoyed sessions filled with singing, performance and arts and crafts. The project culminated in attending an evening performance at Holland Park, and it was a privilege to see the Young Artists’ in action, having worked so closely with them during the project.
This month we also held a special event at the Science Museum to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing of Apollo 11. This was part of a training programme for Science Museum staff who wants to develop their offer people living with dementia
May 2019
May has been very busy preparing for Dementia Action Week, taking place 20th – 26th May. The week is filled with lots of activities including a Gamelan Workshop at the Southbank Centre, arts workshops and concerts. An AGM of the Dementia Action Alliance will take place in the new Café level overlooking London at City Hall. The Alliance also supported the forget-me-not scarves trail project which saw statues round the borough sporting bright yellow crocheted scarves decorated with the Alzheimer’s Society forget-me-not, the first joint action with Kensington and Chelsea Dementia Action Alliance
April 2019
This month we are very excited that our Cognitive Skills Therapy project at the Victoria and Albert has begun after months of preparation, with artist Zoe Gilmore working alongside curators to translate the games and activities in the CST programme into an arts-based approach, drawing on items within the museum.
We will be offering training to staff at the Science Museum at the end of the month who are keen to expand their offer for people living with memory loss
March 2019
We are very pleased to announce that we have been joined by Julie Foord as our new Projects Manager. Julie comes from a background in dance education and is an experienced dance artist. She has worked in a variety of community settings and is excited to bring her passion for working in arts and health to the Resonate team. Already this month she has offered warm-ups with Creative Befrienders and at the celebration event 'Remembering Together', and next month she is offering a movement session at the Memory Café, so she’s hit the ground running.
Music for Thought in Hammersmith incorporated a concert at the William Morris Society attended by the participants of several Music for Thought projects past and present, whilst in Westminster the tour of the Royal Academy of Music Museum finished with a performance by the students in the piano Gallery.
We have been training guides at the Victoria and Albert Museum to offer dementia friendly tours and are thrilled that their first tour will take place at the end of this month. Check their website for forthcoming tours which will be on the last Monday of the month during 2019.
February 2019
A great start to the month with our Creative Befriending training at the National Portrait Gallery and lots of new wonderful artists wanting to work one-to-one in people’s own homes. Music for Thought projects began in both Hammersmith and Fulham at St Vincent’s Centre and Westminster at Wigmore Hall with students from the Royal Academy of music and professional musicians from Wigmore Hall. Our first Music for the Moment concert of the year was with the Academy’s Vocal Ensemble at Marylebone Parish Church who were very well received.
The Singing with Friends choir were involved in the Big Sing! event at Wigmore Hall, a year to the day since they were performing at Buckingham Palace! The same week they were part of Home from Home, an exciting installation by sound artist Gawain Hewitt as part of Wigmore Hall’s Learning Festival, where visitors’ movement of individual crockery on a dining table activated interviews and original compositions sung by the choir.
January 2019
Lots of new beginnings! Our monthly art group for people living with dementia and their carers began the year with a session on New Year’s resolutions. We recruited for a new Creative Befriending training day programme and worked on setting up new projects with Royal Parks and three new projects with the Victoria and Albert Museum, along with recruitment for a new Projects Manager for Resonate Arts. The student and artist team preparation and recruitment took place for two new Music for Thought projects. Watch this space!
We held a social evening for our Creative Befrienders at the RAM, with the opportunity to explore creative games, share learning and experiences.
We started a new project for family carers at the V & A, which will include a session for young carers with artist Sam Haynes to explore their identity as carers. The participants, who are charged with learning new ways of using the museum’s collections in their caring, will have their questions answered over afternoon tea with Admiral nurses and Attachment theory specialist and carer Kate White; get their own bespoke tours of the collections; and create artwork with artists Seiwa Cunningham and Zoe Gilmour as starting points for work at home with their loved ones.
November
We were thrilled to host two successful training days for our Creative and Cultural Befrienders programmes. We were joined by a number of artists across theatre, visual arts and music who are all keen to be matched with individuals living in the community.
We had a great start to our Music for Thought project, offering four workshops exploring the theme of the sky. There were plenty of solos played on the drums, as well as dancing and singing.
October
We had a lovely start to Autumn with our Silver Sunday event at the Wallace Collection in partnership with Wigmore Hall and the Royal Academy of Music (RAM). Participants experienced a tour led by professional artist Sara, and then took park in a music making workshop with musicians and students from the RAM. It was a pleasure to also listen to improvised performances in the gallery, performed in response to the paintings!
We are delighted to have begun our Music for Thought project in the lovely surroundings of Bay 20 community centre in Ladbroke Grove. Participants from across the borough of Kensington and Chelsea are coming together for eight weeks for music making, singing and lyric writing. The project is offered in collaboration with the RAM and students from their Open Academy and Fellowship programmes, and Wigmore Hall’s Music for Life musicians.
September
This month we have been delighted to share ideas about the work with some Japanese research colleagues and also the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. It was the first Music for the Moment concert of the season at St Marylebone church. As we move into Autumn we celebrate with three exciting Creative Befriending matches, watch this space for developments! We are recruiting or Creative and Cultural Befrienders, for more information and how to apply.
August
This month we were delighted to host our Summer Soiree at the beautiful St Cuthbert’s Centre. We were thrilled to be joined by two classically trained singers, Sam and Tom who had joined us for our Opera for Thought project. The afternoon was attended by 70 guests who enjoyed delicious home-made cake, entertainment and corsage making.
We have also been very busy meeting with individuals across Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, in addition to hosting two events as part of a consultation process in partnership with the council. These conversations will help inform the bi-borough dementia strategy, of which the final report will be published later this year. Special thank you to RIBA and Westminster Cathedral for hosting our events and the wonderful Terezie Wickenden, Westminster’s Dementia Advisor for all her support as part of the consultations.
July
This month we completed our 12 week Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) project at the Victoria and Albert museum. Each week the sessions were based around a different theme such as childhood, holidays and money. Participants had the opportunity to meet with a range of guest curators in addition to visiting different areas of the museum such as the National Art Library.
June
June began with a lovely open rehearsal of our Singing with Friends group at Wigmore Hall. It was great to see individuals come together to sing a variety of music and the morning included an opportunity to sing on the Wigmore Hall stage.
We have had a brilliant time over May and June working in partnership with the Young Artists from Opera Holland Park in exploring Un ballo in maschera. Participants enjoyed sessions filled with singing, performance and arts and crafts. The project culminated in attending an evening performance at Holland Park, and it was a privilege to see the Young Artists’ in action, having worked so closely with them during the project.
This month we also held a special event at the Science Museum to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing of Apollo 11. This was part of a training programme for Science Museum staff who wants to develop their offer people living with dementia
May 2019
May has been very busy preparing for Dementia Action Week, taking place 20th – 26th May. The week is filled with lots of activities including a Gamelan Workshop at the Southbank Centre, arts workshops and concerts. An AGM of the Dementia Action Alliance will take place in the new Café level overlooking London at City Hall. The Alliance also supported the forget-me-not scarves trail project which saw statues round the borough sporting bright yellow crocheted scarves decorated with the Alzheimer’s Society forget-me-not, the first joint action with Kensington and Chelsea Dementia Action Alliance
April 2019
This month we are very excited that our Cognitive Skills Therapy project at the Victoria and Albert has begun after months of preparation, with artist Zoe Gilmore working alongside curators to translate the games and activities in the CST programme into an arts-based approach, drawing on items within the museum.
We will be offering training to staff at the Science Museum at the end of the month who are keen to expand their offer for people living with memory loss
March 2019
We are very pleased to announce that we have been joined by Julie Foord as our new Projects Manager. Julie comes from a background in dance education and is an experienced dance artist. She has worked in a variety of community settings and is excited to bring her passion for working in arts and health to the Resonate team. Already this month she has offered warm-ups with Creative Befrienders and at the celebration event 'Remembering Together', and next month she is offering a movement session at the Memory Café, so she’s hit the ground running.
Music for Thought in Hammersmith incorporated a concert at the William Morris Society attended by the participants of several Music for Thought projects past and present, whilst in Westminster the tour of the Royal Academy of Music Museum finished with a performance by the students in the piano Gallery.
We have been training guides at the Victoria and Albert Museum to offer dementia friendly tours and are thrilled that their first tour will take place at the end of this month. Check their website for forthcoming tours which will be on the last Monday of the month during 2019.
February 2019
A great start to the month with our Creative Befriending training at the National Portrait Gallery and lots of new wonderful artists wanting to work one-to-one in people’s own homes. Music for Thought projects began in both Hammersmith and Fulham at St Vincent’s Centre and Westminster at Wigmore Hall with students from the Royal Academy of music and professional musicians from Wigmore Hall. Our first Music for the Moment concert of the year was with the Academy’s Vocal Ensemble at Marylebone Parish Church who were very well received.
The Singing with Friends choir were involved in the Big Sing! event at Wigmore Hall, a year to the day since they were performing at Buckingham Palace! The same week they were part of Home from Home, an exciting installation by sound artist Gawain Hewitt as part of Wigmore Hall’s Learning Festival, where visitors’ movement of individual crockery on a dining table activated interviews and original compositions sung by the choir.
January 2019
Lots of new beginnings! Our monthly art group for people living with dementia and their carers began the year with a session on New Year’s resolutions. We recruited for a new Creative Befriending training day programme and worked on setting up new projects with Royal Parks and three new projects with the Victoria and Albert Museum, along with recruitment for a new Projects Manager for Resonate Arts. The student and artist team preparation and recruitment took place for two new Music for Thought projects. Watch this space!
