Make Sense
Hackney Caribbean Elderly Organisation
In 2023, the McLay Dementia Trust generously funded three workshops at the Hackney Caribbean Elderly Organisation, a center dedicated to promoting the activity and well-being of older Caribbean community members. This year, we returned to facilitate another three workshops in conjunction with their lunch club program.
This group boasts one of our largest workshop attendances, with 15-20 individuals consistently participating in each creative activity. Our recent sessions featured silk painting, paper stenciling and marbling, and foam block printing. Last year, we offered screen printing, clay coaster making, and felting.
“
We were delighted that Melissa visited our centre to share her arts and crafts skills with our elderly service users, including those living with dementia. The sessions were fun and stimulating. They especially enjoyed the silk printing session which not only gave them satisfaction in producing their own print, but also the activity generated lots of communication around the shapes, colours and textures of each piece.” Lullyn
Project Officer
Through our collaboration with Hackney Circle, we've discovered that integrating workshops with lunch clubs significantly boosts participation. While individuals who identify as creative naturally gravitate towards our workshops, dementia affects diverse populations. It's crucial to engage those who might not typically consider artistic endeavors. The lunch component ensures participants feel refreshed, allowing us to extend the workshop duration without causing fatigue. This also enables us to explore more intricate techniques like silk painting.
A strong sense of community thrives within the Caribbean Elderly Organisation, and their shared cultural identity fostered a collaborative creative spirit. Workshops like paper marbling, where everyone gathered around a water tray, adding ink to its surface, resulted in prints perceived as collective artwork amongst friends. Our paper stenciling workshop, held on Valentine's Day, fostered collaboration and lighthearted conversations about relationships, culminating in a group poster composed of various heart symbols created by the participants.
This project was kick-started by The McLay Dementia Trust.
