Latest Laois News: Older Laois people to get to enjoy works from Laois County Council’s Art Collection

New opportunity for Laois artists and art educators to introduce elderly people in Laois to artworks

Laois County Council Arts Office in partnership with the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) is launching a new professional development initiative for artists and art educators with a visual arts background interested in working with older people and in particular those living with dementia.

Laois artists and art educators with facilitation experience are invited to apply to participate in the ‘Azure Dementia Inclusive Training’ programme as part of The Creative Ireland Programme’s Creativity for Older Age challenge fund 2021. This training is for artists that are interested in working with person’s living with dementia and their carers/family, with expert guidance on how to deliver dementia-inclusive art viewing workshops where the person living with dementia and their carer/family can participate. This professional development opportunity is free of charge to participating artists. All training and assessment will be delivered online. 

Introducing elderly people in Laois to artworks

County Laois Arts Officer and Creative Ireland Coordinator, Muireann Ní Chonaill explained further about this exciting and innovative opportunity:

“Everyone is entitled to be an active cultural participant at all stages of life and the aim of this partnership initiative with IMMA is to provide a suite of professional development training for arts practitioners in order to facilitate high quality interaction and meaningful engagement with older people – taking them on a journey of discovery with selected artworks from Laois’s Art Collection and IMMA’s national collection of modern and contemporary art.  Most importantly, this training prepares artists to engage with people with dementia-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s, and the people who care for them – responding to their needs and creating access to participation in cultural activities. 

The ‘Azure Dementia Inclusive Training’ programme advocates for inclusivity and its primary objective is to reduce the barriers experienced by people with dementia and their carers in accessing culture and to ensure that every aspect of their engagement with cultural organisations is sensitive to their needs. Over the last decade IMMA’s Engagement and Learning Department has pioneered the development of programming for older people in museums in Ireland. It has demonstrated its commitment and capacity to deliver innovative, impactful programming, and has successfully established itself as the leading authority in this space. Programming for older people both within the walls of cultural institutions, in their local communities and in residential settings is becoming increasingly important as Ireland’s population continues to age. IMMA has identified the need and opportunity to make provisions to guarantee the inclusion of older audiences in all of its programming and recognises the diversity of the experience of older people in Ireland; from those who are healthy, independent and well, to older people with disabilities, and a growing population of people living with dementia or caring for someone living with dementia.

Opportunity for older Laois people to enjoy works from Laois County Council’s Art Collection and the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) Collection

In 2020 IMMA appointed Ireland’s first Art & Ageing Curator, and with the support of Creative Ireland, launched its Art & Ageing Programme and additionally creating a suite of digital tools and printed resource packs. The pilot was a huge success with over 33,000 views of the digital resources and over 14,000 packs distributed by IMMA or via project partners including Age & Opportunity, Alzheimer Society of Ireland and HSE Dementia Understand Together. For more information, go to imma.ie/learn-engage/art-and-ageing.

Application guidelines and access to download the application form for the ‘Azure Dementia Inclusive Training’ programme can be found here. For information, contact Laois Arts Office on 057 8664033/13 or artsoff@laoiscoco.ie.

This is an initiative of Laois County Council Arts Office in partnership with the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) and in collaboration with Laois Age Friendly and Healthy Ireland Laois. It is supported by Creative Ireland Laois as part of the Creative Ireland Programme (2017–2022) and in partnership with Laois County Council.