The Breckland Arts for Health Programme 2023-2026, is supported by investment from Breckland Council and Arts Council England. It is an amalgamation of previous arts for health projects in the area, namely ‘The Silver Social’ and ‘Our Day Out’.
The new offer of ‘Creative Socials’ and ‘Afternoon Events’ will provide monthly participatory workshops and bi-monthly live performances and cinema screenings which are free to people aged 50+ in Breckland. ‘Creative Socials’ will include a dynamic range of activities including music making, visual arts and crafts, contemporary movement, and Caribbean dance, to name a few! Advanced booking is recommended and voluntary donations are welcomed.
There are additional Creative Social groups operating elsewhere across Norfolk, in Great Massingham, Great Yarmouth and Hunstanton.
You can view all our events listed on our What’s On page or for Breckland-specific locations, visit www.brecklandartsforhealth.co.uk
‘Our Day Out’ (2016-2022) was a free, inclusive, high-quality series of creative workshops for older people which ran twice-monthly in nine communities, including Thetford, Hunstanton, and Great Yarmouth. The award-winning programme provided creative workshops for people living with a dementia or other long term health conditions, their carers, and/or those experiencing loneliness in their later years. They were designed and led by professional music and movement artists, trained to tailor their work to be accessible, interesting, and creatively ambitious across a number of linked sessions.
Despite core funding having come to an end for this phase of the Our Day Out programme, between 2023-2026 Creative Arts East will maintain an arts for health offer for vulnerable older people through a continuing investment partnership with Breckland Council coupled with increased funding from Arts Council England, as detailed above.
The health and social impacts of the programmed are outlined by Dr Hannah Zeilig and Millie van der Byl Williams in the report below. not only does the report show statistically proven improvement of participant wellbeing against validated scales, it also highlights other key social and personal benefits of taking part, including increases in social connectivity, sense of belonging, and creative expression.
Ruth Hollis, CEO of Spirit of 2012 Trust and primary funder for Our Day Out 2016-2022, said, ‘this final evaluation demonstrates strong impacts on the wellbeing and social connectedness of participants and their carers and family members. An average increase in wellbeing of 64% and a 10-point decrease in the percentage of people who hardly ever or never feel lonely shows that even with a progressive illness like dementias, high-quality and inclusive participatory activities can lead to significant increases in wellbeing and feeling of connection for both the participant and carer.’
Read the full Spirit of 2012 blog – click here to view the blog
Download the Our Day Out 2016-2022 External Report – click here to download the report now
61% and Smiling Report is the percentage of people who demonstrated increased wellbeing as a result of taking part in the creative and cultural activities, which were part of the Norfolk Arts & Wellbeing Programme. The report shares the learning from the Norfolk Arts & Wellbeing Programme 2013-2016.
Download the 61% and Smiling report – click here to download the report
Follow the Breckland Arts For Health Twitter feed – Click here to follow the Twitter feed now
