Group: Residents of Glenowen Court, Andersonstown
Arts Care Artist: Jason Parks
Title: Changing Seasons
Participants: Bridie, Eileen, June, Pat, Rose Clarke, Lily Mc
Eileen, Kitty, Jo Jo, Tommy, Jimmy
About the project:
Glenowen Court is a residential care home situated off the main Andersonstown Road in Belfast. Many of the participants in this project have Dementia and sometimes memories and thoughts are fleeting. Writing isn’t always easy and many of these poems started off through conversations and sensory exercises. We did all write, some of us wrote a lot, others a little, some required help and support and some wrote much more than is contained in this collection and could probably publish a book of their own! We told jokes, we drew, we sang Elvis songs, we laughed, we cried, we shared important things about transformations through our lives.
We observed the changing seasons, changing weather, changing roles through our lives. We looked at making something from nothing-small moments, small acts of kindness everyday that can transform our mood, how friendship and company and activities can lift us out of ourselves. We wrote Haiku and other short poetry forms. We talked about the poetry of everyday life and the simple moments that happen occasionally where the world seems to stop- a break in the clouds on a rainy day, sudden weather-be it snow or a heavy downpour, the first blossom in spring. We shared stories about life and family, what friends mean to us.
We talked about where we had been, where we are now and where we might end up after all this is said and done. Most of all I think we can say we had fun, were intellectually and creatively stimulated and we hope you also enjoy reading our poems as much as we enjoyed making them.
To download a copy of Changing Seasons click here
Council Area: Belfast
Group: Engage with Age Choir
Arts Care Artist: Róisín Whyte
Title: Transformations through song
About the project:
Musician Róisín Whyte partnered with Engage with Age to create an evening community choir for older people in Belfast. They explored the theme of Transformations through song. What we have focussed on is the transformational effect of singing together, as a community. Many members of the group felt they couldn’t sing, had in the past been told they could not sing, and so were apprehensive about doing so. But in our sessions together we have come together to raise our voice, learned challenging vocal pieces together and have weekly transformed the space we were in through creative expression and joyful song!
The group will be sharing two of the pieces that we have been working on, over the 8 weeks we got together. The pieces are below –
1. Safe Houses, Still Looking a song that looks at the rights and wrongs of life! It was written by acapella group, Black Voices from Birmingham.
2. Mull of Kintyre – Classic folk waltz by Paul McCartney, written in tribute to the Scottish place he loved.
Council Area: Belfast
