Five questions with... Jenny Davis from Arts Uplift CIC
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1. Tell us about your project and who it is for.
Suitcase Stories is about artists, music students and museum practitioners delivering music workshops in care homes and in the community. This involves composing, writing and recording new songs and giving participants the chance to experience music and storytelling sessions by looking at and handling objects from the 40s, 50s and 60s.
They get to sing along to the songs and listen to the music together in care homes and community settings. Health professionals also learn from these sessions, with the aim that they will use these skills in the future.
2. How has the Project Grants funding helped you make this project a reality?
The funding is helping us to develop the pilot project which we’ve already run in the six districts of Worcestershire with a storyteller.
We’re running the project for a longer period of time so we can help more people. It will allow us to nurture new musicians and help them develop their career through training, which will also benefit the company.
We’re developing more suitcases and more variety of handling objects and creating new songs for future shows.
What we learn from this project will help us establish new links with care homes to collaborate for future work. We’re already working with Museums Worcestershire, Wychavon District Council, Bromsgrove District Council, Redditch Borough Council, Alzheimer Society, and Onside Advocacy.
3. What excites you most about this project?
The aim was to improve the health and wellbeing of participants by using real objects to evoke memories. We wanted to offer them the chance to share their past with their friends, relatives and carers as well as with a professional musician.
It’s exciting to see the impact that this project will have on the people and carers’ living with dementia.
4. How do you think this project may benefit people?
The arts have the power to improve wellbeing, and I believe it will be wonderful for these people to have the arts in their lives again.
Hearing new songs being created and recorded, and sharing stories together has such a positive impact on those living with dementia. It gives them the chance to share all their wonderful stories, remember good times from the past and share them with others.
The music and songs are uplifting and help trigger memories. Everyone is given a CD of the songs, which they can play again and again, giving them a record of the past that they can keep.
The sessions also improve mental wellbeing and reduce isolation. The participants make new friends and the carers are able to support each other and talk about the challenges and rewards that come with looking after someone living with dementia.
5. Why are the arts and cultural sector beneficial to communities and the wider public?
The arts and cultural sector engages people on all levels, intellectually and emotionally – it’s a shared experience which stimulates and fulfils our need to connect with each other.
It’s also a vehicle to record living history in an interesting and enjoyable way, and it really lifts people, improving mood and outlook.
Top tip
When applying for Project Grants make sure you read the guidance and questions thoroughly.
