Diverse Rhythms: Co-creativity and wellbeing in dementia care home settings

Abstract

This article considers artistic co-creativity with people with dementia in residential care home settings. Co-Creativity is an approach that has been central to the work of Unmapped (a research group that is led by Julian West and Hannah Zeilig: www.unmapped.space) and was developed during their residency at the Wellcome Hub, Created Out of Mind. The article opens with a brief overview of the wider socio-cultural context for our work. This includes the role of the arts for people with dementia, arts in care home settings, some of the reasons that creativity has not been associated with people with dementia and the importance of co-creativity. We then focus on ‘Creative Encounters’ a recent project that Unmapped are collaborating on with Spitalfields Music. This project has demonstrated the ways in which co-creativity can also extend our understanding of wellbeing both for care home staff and also for residents with dementia