MESOC Serapeum | Where culture meets AI

Id		687
Author		OShea E., Léime A.N.
Title		The impact of the Bealtaine arts programme on the quality of life, wellbeing and social interaction of older people in Ireland
Reference		OShea E., Léime A.N.; The impact of the Bealtaine arts programme on the quality of life, wellbeing and social interaction of older people in Ireland ;Ageing and Society vol:32.0 issue: 5.0 page:851.0
Link to article		https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84861896783&doi=10.1017%2fS0144686X11000717&partnerID=40&md5=96a5e8885c14d752846a0b3a8027acf1
Abstract		There is increasing evidence in the international literature that engagement in the arts can enhance the physical and psychological wellbeing of older people. Such engagement can increase the self-confidence and morale of older people and provide opportunities for increased social connections, leading to higher levels of social cohesion. This article is based on an evaluation of a national arts festival in Ireland called Bealtaine that celebrates creativity in older people each year during the month of May. The festival is unique in the wide range of arts-related activities it includes and the different types of organisations involved, such as local authorities, libraries, educational institutions, health and social care organisations, and voluntary bodies for older people. It includes both long-standing professionally facilitated arts programmes and one-off events at local and national levels. The evaluation used quantitative and qualitative methods to analyse two major postal surveys with organisers and consumers of the festival and face-to-face interviews with older participants, artists and organisers. The findings are overwhelmingly positive in terms of the personal and social gains arising from participation in the festival. In this context, the study provides support for the provision of enhanced and sustained funding for creative programmes for older people and, more generally, for the development of an integrated policy for older people and the arts in the country. ©2011 Cambridge University Press.

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Candidate transition variables
The findings are positive in that regard. .
People mentioned a range of positive social impacts: Its nice to be part of a group. .
The fact that they were part of a largely public celebration seemed to enhance the sense of belonging and collective identity associated with their participation. .
Singing is very beneficial to health and it is energising. .
Community cultural events tend to make people feel better about themselves and their communities, but without prior measures it is difficult to establish the range and magnitude of such effects. .
People value the contribution to identity and self-expression that arises from participation in the festival. .
There is increasing evidence in the international literature that engagement in the arts can enhance the physical and psychological wellbeing of older people. .
Participatory arts programmes can have positive effects on the general health, mental health and social activities of older people. .
Such engagement can increase the self-confidence and morale of older people and provide opportunities for increased social connections, leading to higher levels of social cohesion. .
There are also social gains from creativity programmes linked to solidarity, social connectedness and social capital. .
Since research on community arts programmes in general and national arts festivals in particular is at an early stage of development, the paper also offers some useful insights into the processes and outcomes through which older people can benefit from engagement with the arts, including the policy implications arising from participation. .
The purpose of the festival is to celebrate creativity in older age, highlighting older peoples current engagement in the arts and encouraging their continued and future participation. .
Develop and articulate a national policy for the arts in older age that acknowledges the potency of the arts to transform lives. .
In particular, we need more complex intervention studies to explore how creative expression and participation in arts programmes can enhance health and wellbeing for some people..
There is evidence that participating in arts programmes within various care settings can have beneficial impacts on the physical health of patients and on their psychological wellbeing (Staricoff 2004). .
Psychological benefits - gives meaning and purpose to life, reduces loneliness, combats depression. .
These sessions act as an introduction to the arts for older people, enabling them to perhaps express themselves artistically for the first time, and this often leads to a desire for more on-going involvement. .
Moreover, the festival has also provided opportunities for organisations such as libraries and long-stay care settings to impact positively on social inclusion through arts programmes that reached out to hitherto marginalised groups of older people. .
According to organisers, participants sometimes discover hidden talents, participation and learning new skills boosts the confidence of older people, attending classes increases their independence and opens up to the concept of lifelong learning. .
The face-to-face interviews reveal that some participants gain confidence in their skills and go on to develop further artistically and personally. .
(Interview with member of long-term visual arts group) Another interviewee emphasised that the opportunity to participate in a public forum to perform/display their talents had a positive effect on their self-esteem: The festival allows older people to publicly share their talents, which is good for self-esteem. .
Improves skills - older artists realise they have something to offer. .
The festival has grown every year and has met its objective of providing opportunities for meaningful engagement in the arts by older people, both as artists and participants. .
What this study tells us is that engagement with the arts carries considerable potential, though not easily measured, to enrich the life of participants across a variety of health-related domains. .
The results of this study suggest that additional investment in participatory arts programmes for older people will likely yield considerable public health benefits into the future. .
Those who see Bealtaine as successful in this regard suggest that its very existence raises confidence and self-esteem among older people; its high visibility nationwide through billboard campaigns, media coverage and arts ambassadors creates an awareness of the importance of participation and shared cultural experience. .
Dance, drama and visual art programmes were specifically mentioned as encouraging personal development. .
Those engaged in intergenerational projects mention that they have extended their social networks by getting to know local young people. .
The festival facilitates self-expression and personal development, with equally strong effects on social networking and engagement with the community. .
(Interview with member of long-term visual arts group) Another participant believed that focusing on art reduces his anxiety about his health: I probably think about the art more that I think about my health. .
It gives you a sense of wellbeing if you do a good painting or if you do a good piece of sculpture with clay. .
The aim was to cover a range of different types of arts activity in urban and rural areas. .
Organisers said that participants became more involved with volunteers, artists, school-children and other community members through these events. .
Older participants appear to have been stimulated by the festival to become more involved in their local communities, sometimes for the simple reason that their voluntary effort was required for the event to happen at all. .
The findings are overwhelmingly positive in terms of the personal and social gains arising from participation in the festival. .
In recent years, the strategy has been one of developing a strong central artistic programme for Bealtaine, thereby attracting greater funding support from arts organisations and higher profile for older people within the arts generally. .
One respondent wrote that becoming part ofa craft can help you develop your ideas, while another felt that being part of the committee organising Bealtaine events helped us form ideas as a group and I enjoyed being part of the organisation committee. .
The festival encompasses many art-forms and includes both long-standing professionally facilitated arts programmes, sometimes using international co-ordinators, and one-off events linked to local organisations. .
This is particularly apparent in longer-term programmes that are facilitated by professional artists, but is also discernible in short-term one-off programmes. .
Such engagement has been found to increase the self-confidence and morale of older people, as well as providing opportunities for increased social connections, both with other older people and with younger people. .
One woman emphasised the beneficial effects that having something to look forward to and being absorbed in creative activity has had on her quality of life: It gave me a new lease of life. .

ARTICLE - CANDIDATE TRANSITION VARIABLES

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