Care Home Open Day is an annual event across the country and encourages care homes to open their doors and celebrate a different theme each year. The key values at its heart are friendship, making connections and celebrating older and vulnerable people. This year’s event fell on Friday 28th June.
We were thrilled when we found out that the theme for this year’s Care Home Open Day was the Role of the Arts in Care. It couldn’t be a more fitting theme for Creative Minds! It was the perfect opportunity for many Care Homes to showcase the work created during Creative Minds Art Sessions, and on the day many CM Artists ran sessions in Care Home so that residents and visitors could have fun getting creative.
CM Artist Karen worked with residents at Kingsleigh Care Home in Woking to decorate these pretty flower pots for the garden. On the day, they were visited by school children, who sang and recited poems. They also celebrated the work that Karen has been doing in the home and awarded her with a card and bottle of bubbly at the end of the session to show their thanks!
CM Artist Sarah Jane created a striking sealife installation with residents at The Hyde in Bridgeport, using local Bridgeport net. They had great fun painting tropical fish and creating starfish.
CM Artist Hanna had a busy day at Bentley House in Hertford where she worked with residents to create these two stunning canvases which they proudly displayed alongside some smaller painted boards. All were delighted with the outcome of the session, and so proud to see their work on display!
Then on the run up to their open day, residents at Kew House in Wimbledon worked with CM Artist Kirsteen to create this vibrant, colourful sign. It was used on the open day to direct visitors to the home to their garden. It looked stunning hung up on the wall, and they had great fun working on this communal collage exploring a variety of different artistic mediums.
CM Artist Kim worked on a huge project with residents at Appleby House. On their open day they revealed a series of new garden sculptures titled “The Pillars of the Community.” Local groups and individuals were invited along to design a section of the pillar, exploring topics that were close to their heart. During their art sessions, the residents worked on each section of the pillars using clay. These pieces were later installed onto each of the pillars.
The unveiling took place on the open day, and all were delighted to see how the finished sculpture garden turned out. Many people came along to visit on the day including children from local primary and secondary schools, the Mayor of Epsom, NAPA, Care England, plus local paramedics and police! This had been a massive project for both residents at Appleby House, staff and CM Artist Kim and we are all incredibly proud at the outcome! Take a look…
