Creative Arts Program Research Articles

Together Stronger: A creative arts program for children of a parent with young onset dementia

AbstractBackgroundWorking age individuals who develop dementia experience significant challenges to their ability to keep working. This has wide ranging impacts not only on the individual but also for their families, many of which include young children. Presently there is limited knowledge of the impact on children of having a parent with YOD or of resources to support these children.MethodEight children aged between 8‐19 took part in Together Stronger, a community based creative arts programme for children of a parent with young onset dementia. Hosted by the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) the program ran in a hybrid format over eight bi‐weekly sessions. Activities included willow weaving, storytelling with museum artefacts, and baking together. The impact on the children’s wellbeing and social engagement was assessed using mixed methods.ResultQualitative results suggest an overall improvement in the wellbeing of the children whilst quantitative wellbeing results were inconclusive. The children were overwhelmingly positive about the creative activities and wished the group would continue. They particularly liked that the group did not focus on their parent’s dementia but instead was about creative activities. The children enjoyed the social aspect and appreciated the opportunity to spend time with other people in the same situation.ConclusionThis community‐based project for children of parents with young‐onset dementia shows promising results in terms of feasibility, acceptability and impact. Participants' feedback on the structure and contents of the sessions provides useful recommendations regarding future service provision.

Artists as tricksters: Exploring boundary crossing between theory and practice in a new doctor of creative arts program

This article explores how artist-researchers navigate the “uncertain” space between theory and practice in a new Doctor of Creative Arts (DCA) program in an Australian regional university. The trickster is deployed as a metaphorical device to provide insights into how the first DCA’s candidates, their supervisors, and the university’s leadership make sense of their own experiences within and about the practice-led research program under a neoliberal climate. Tricksters’ cross boundaries between critical and imaginary spaces; yet they also create boundaries, by extending collective knowledge into the unknown. This process is entirely consistent with the critical and creative work required by doctoral candidates to produce innovative research. Narrative inquiry is applied in accordance with the artist-trickster’s subjective agency within practice-led doctoral study. The article charts the DCA’s emerging identity as a doctoral qualification equal to the traditional PhD but different from it, during its implementation in 2016 to the first successful completion in 2019. The findings reveal the benefits of the program’s innovative design, grounded in the creation of its distinctive community of practice that supports practice-led research, local and international connections, and regional resilience.

Celebrating is remembering: OUTing the Past as a study in the reflective and transformative potential of small events

ABSTRACT Since its emergence in the latter half of the twentieth century, public history has engendered ongoing transformations in the creation and dissemination of knowledge. Its aims, as well as efforts undertaken as part of its praxis, are reminders that collaborative engagements with individuals and communities can simultaneously serve to commemorate, educate and empower. Recent scholarship that examines pop-up events underscores both their significance to public history and the innovative potential they represent in celebrating LGBT+ lives and experiences. In particular, the extent to which they encourage considerations of space that are more attentive to localities and pluralities is indicative of the disruptive significance of small-scale events. Among other possibilities that lend themselves to expanding the reach of public history, particularly by adopting new modes of interpretation that place a premium on active engagement, creative arts programming provides a pathway to stimulating interest in exploring and understanding the past. The work of OUTing the Past, a UK-based organisation, effectively reflects aspirations associated with public history, with the logistical benefits of pop-up events and the contributions of creative productions finding purchase in its programming. Documenting the commitments it makes to re/centring history and the frameworks it has strategically developed in realising these provides the impetus for this critical study of a multifaceted approach to promoting small-scale LGBT+ celebrations.

Enhancing Group Bonding in an Acting Class of Older Adults in Urban Subsidized Housing

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis has impacted the daily routines of students, people living with dementia, and their care partners. Social distancing results in fewer interpersonal interactions and enjoyable activities which makes life more challenging for those living with dementia. The purposes of this multiple case study were to understand how nursing students, people with dementia, and care partners (a) describe online visits between nursing students and people with dementia during stay-at-home directives in response to COVID-19 and (b) the perceived visit benefits. Nursing students participated in online visits to socially engage with their mentor (person living with dementia). During the visits it was anticipated that care partners would enjoy a brief respite. After 12 visits, investigators completed one-to-one online interviews with students (n = 10), care partners (n = 8) and mentors (n = 8). All cases reported a positive experience, perceptions of the conversations, improved social connection and meaning and purpose, mentor’s enhanced cognition and planned future connections. Relationships were formed between students, people with dementia, and care partners during online visits, an activity that might be implemented outside of a crisis to prevent social isolation across generations. Future efforts to engage people with dementia in residential facilities should be formally integrated into the care plan and staff dedicated to help with technology assigned.

Impact of using creative arts programming to support HIV treatment in adolescents and young adults in Eswatini

BackgroundIn 2018, approximately 1.6 million adolescents (aged 10–19) were living with HIV worldwide, with the highest HIV prevalence found in Eswatini. Adolescents and young adults living with HIV are a vulnerable population due to unique psychosocial challenges that come with having a stigmatizing disease. This group struggles more than other age-groups with medication adherence and requires novel approaches to supporting treatment, including peer-group encouragement, and self-expression.MethodsWe piloted a theater camp for a group of adolescents and young adults enrolled at our HIV clinic in Mbabane, Eswatini, to determine the impact of having an outlet for creative expression and peer support on treatment and feelings of stigma. Pre- and post-camp surveys were administered to the participants to assess perceived stigma and impact of the camp. The results were analyzed using a Wilcoxon-signed rank test.ResultsTwenty individuals (ages 12–23) living with HIV participated in the camp concurrently with standard treatment. 25% showed a substantial decrease in viral load within six months of completing the camp (> 0.1 log10 change) while only 10% showed a substantial increase. Those who completed the survey felt the camp helped them with confidence, teamwork, and friendships. A comparison of pre- and post- surveys showed an overall decrease in personalized stigma. Quotes from participants reinforced these results.ConclusionsAdolescents and young adults living with HIV are an important population for further program development. Our study showed creative arts programming has beneficial psychosocial effects, aids in community building, and potentially enhances the effectiveness of medical treatment. Further programs and studies should continue to investigate creative arts as an avenue for self-expression and community building among vulnerable populations.

POS-557 THE BENEFITS OF AN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY BASED CREATIVE ARTS PROGRAM FOR HAEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS

Approximately 65 000 people are currently on renal replacement therapy in the UK with 37.3% on in-centre haemodialysis1. These patients spend on average 12 hours per week on dialysis and consequently are at high risk of occupational deprivation during treatment. Starting haemodialysis is a major life event that, although life-sustaining, can lead to increased symptom burden, anxiety, depression, functional deterioration, cognitive decline and withdrawal from social occupations2,3,4. Occupational Therapists are dual trained across mental and physical health and are skilled in providing holistic interventions to support people managing chronic conditions. A recent report found evidence that participation in art therapy can promote good health, prevent physical and mental health issues and manage acute and chronic conditions as well as being usually low-risk, non-invasive and cost-effective5. This project to establish an “art on dialysis” program aims to engage patients in creative activities during dialysis. The anticipated benefits are to provide stimulus and distraction from dialysis, provide a sense of ownership in completed works, foster social inclusion and peer support, provide exercises in co-ordination and fine motors skills to maintain and improve physical function and to utilise planning, processing and memory skills. Patients and staff were surveyed to determine interest in engaging in creative activities and preferences for sessions as well as how patients were currently spending their time during dialysis and at home. Exclusion criteria included patients lacking adequate cognition or language to complete the survey with support. 40 patients and 4 staff responded to the survey; 45 patients either declined or were unable to participate. The top three ways patients were currently spending their time during dialysis were sleeping, reading and watching T.V. This was also reflected in how staff felt patients spent the majority of their time. When off dialysis, watching T.V. remained popular as well as spending time with family. Patients were able to identify a range of activities they felt were meaningful or enjoyable however many of these activities they felt they were no longer able to complete such as attending church, socializing and playing sport. 87% of patients reported they would, or potentially would, be interested in engaging in art activities during dialysis. Staff response was limited but those who did partake were in favour with 75% outright supporting the project. Staff identified positive potential outcomes for the project such as preventing boredom, helping time to go quicker, encouraging chats with peers, being beneficial to mind and body and encouraging patients to do something else with their time. Identified barriers to the programme included intrinsic factors such as lack of patient motivation, wanting to sleep, poor vision, lack of dexterity and lethargy and extrinsic factors such as dialysis access and treatment hindering participation. With positive responses from both staff and patients regarding the piloting of a creative arts program during dialysis funding was approved by the Trust’s Kidney Patient’s Association. Commencement of the program was delayed due to Covid-19 but plans are now underway to launch with the aim to have additional outcomes by April 2021 to present.

Novel Solutions to Student Problems: A Phenomenological Exploration of a Single Session Approach to Art Therapy With Creative Arts University Students.

Within the Australian university context, research has uncovered increasing levels of psychological distress, in the form of stress, anxiety and depression. Higher rates of psychological distress have been reported in undergraduate students specifically enrolled in creative arts programs. Despite these increasing levels of psychological distress, university students are reluctant to engage with mental health and wellbeing supports. To explore ways to meet the mental health and wellbeing needs of creative arts university students, the Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit at The University of Melbourne commenced a project exploring the benefits and pitfalls of a brief creative arts therapies approach for students attending a campus based wellbeing clinic. This exploratory research study formed the art therapy component of this much broader research endeavor. Creative arts students in this research study were invited to participate in a single session art therapy encounter that involved the visual exploration of the miracle question, asking students to visually depict “what the problem looks like and how it will look when the problem is resolved or you feel like you can cope with it better?” The descriptive findings of this exploratory research study revealed how the combination of art therapy used within a single session framework was able to afford students a novel means to externalize problems, leading students to forming a less internalized view of the self.

940. Impact of Using Arts Programming to Support Treatment in Adolescents Living with HIV in Eswatini

BackgroundAdolescents and young adults with HIV are a unique population given the distinct psychosocial challenges of their age-group coupled with having a stigmatizing disease. In 2018, approximately 1.6 million adolescents were living with HIV worldwide, with the highest HIV prevalence found in Eswatini. As this group struggles more than any other age-group with medication adherence, novel interventions that are peer-inclusive and empowering should be explored to support their treatment.MethodsWe piloted a theater camp to determine the impact of fostering creative expression amongst adolescents and young adults enrolled at our HIV clinic in Mbabane, Eswatini. A two-week camp was conducted in collaboration with a non-profit organization of professional teachers, actors, and musicians. We emphasized enrollment of patients struggling with medication adherence, teen mothers, and those on second-line antiretroviral treatment. Twenty individuals (ages 12-23) participated in self-expression activities, story development, and a final play performed for the community. To assess impact, we compared viral loads pre- and post- camp as well as surveyed participants on effect of participation on areas such as personal stigma, sense of community, and confidence.ResultsOf those who participated, 25% showed a substantial decrease and 10% a substantial increase in viral load after the camp (>0.1 log10 change). Those who completed the survey (n=18) felt the camp helped them with confidence (13/18), teamwork (13/18), and friendships (11/18). Quotes from participants reinforced this growing sense of community, confidence, and decreased personal stigma. One wrote “theater camp helped me know that I can do a lot of things in life to achieve my future goals although I am HIV positive” and another stated “it made me not feel sorry for being an HIV positive person.”ConclusionOur pilot program demonstrates creative arts programming has beneficial psychosocial effects, aids in community building, and potentially enhances the effectiveness of medical treatment. Further programs and studies should continue to investigate creative arts as an avenue for treatment support, self-expression, and community building among vulnerable populations such as adolescents and young adults with HIV.Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Poetry Brings Out the Best in Us: Structured Poetry-Based Group Activity in Long-Term Care

The Alzheimer’s Poetry Project has a proven track record at over 500 facilities in 35 states and six countries, serving over 50,000 people worldwide, and has the ability to bring high-quality creative arts programming to people living with dementia in long-term care. We describe how volunteers and recreation and care staff can be trained to deliver the intervention, offering direct benefits for participants and indirect benefits when modeled in the presence of providers and family members. Basic validation techniques are easily learned and incorporated into diverse dementia care strategies. As activity programs based in creative arts help to support self-expression among participants and serve as a vehicle for generating feelings of self-efficacy, we explain how such activities are well suited to fostering the person-centered goals of dementia care programming. Clinicians and other transdisciplinary care providers are encouraged to use and teach validation-focused arts interventions with persons living with dementia.

An integrative systematic review of creative arts interventions for older informal caregivers of people with neurological conditions.

ObjectiveWe aimed to assess and synthesise the current state of quantitative and qualitative research concerning creative arts interventions for older informal caregivers of people with neurological conditions.MethodsA systematic search was employed to identify studies that examined creative arts interventions for older informal caregivers, which were synthesised in this integrative review. We searched the following databases: MEDLINE, PubMed, EBSCO, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. We also backwards searched references of all relevant studies and inspected trials registers.ResultsOf the 516 studies identified, 17 were included: one was quantitative, nine were qualitative and seven used mixed methods. All included quantitative studies were pilot or feasibility studies employing pre- and post-test design with small sample sizes. Studies varied in relation to the type of creative intervention and evaluation methods, which precluded meta-analysis. Large effect sizes were detected in wellbeing measures following singing and art interventions. The qualitative synthesis highlighted that interventions created space for caregivers to make sense of, accept and adapt to their identity as a caregiver. Personal developments, such as learning new skills, were viewed positively by caregivers as well as welcoming the opportunity to gain cognitive and behavioural skills, and having opportunities to unload emotions in a safe space were important to caregivers. Group creative interventions were particularly helpful in creating social connections with their care-recipients and other caregivers.ConclusionsThe current review revealed all creative interventions focused on caregivers of people living with dementia; subsequently, this identified gaps in the evidence of creative interventions for informal caregivers of other neurological conditions. There are encouraging preliminary data on music and art interventions, however, little data exists on other art forms, e.g., drama, dance. Creative interventions may appeal to many caregivers, offering a range of psycho-social benefits. The findings of the current review open the way for future research to develop appropriate and creative arts programmes and to test their efficacy with robust tools.

A Retrospective Thematic Analysis of Patient, Family, and Staff Creative Art Tiles Developed on a Tertiary Palliative Care Unit.

Clinical use of the creative arts in palliative care is well established, yet there are few evaluation studies of these programs. In this first phase of a 3-phase evaluation of a creative arts program entitled "Tile Tales," we conducted a retrospective thematic analysis of 85 painted tiles and accompanying stories that were publically displayed on a tertiary palliative care unit. Each story was independently coded, using content analysis. Themes were derived through consensus, using the constant comparative method. Tiles were created by staff (n = 36, 42%), family (n = 32, 38%), patients (n = 9, 11%), or patients and family (n = 8, 9%). Six major themes emerged from the artwork: "Spirituality," "Relationships," "Journey," "Story," "Symbolism," and "Paradox." These results illustrate how the creative arts can support the expression of diverse palliative care experiences, for patients, their families and palliative care staff, when words alone may not suffice.

Creative Arts Program to Reduce Burnout in Critical Care Healthcare Professionals

Creative Arts Program to Reduce Burnout in Critical Care Healthcare Professionals

Rhythm in Motion: developing English skills through music and creative movement

Creative Arts Educ Ther (2019) 5(2):134–142 DOI: 10.15212/CAET/2019/5/26 Rhythm in Motion: developing English skills through music and creative movement 运动中的节奏：通过音乐和创造性动作发展英语技能 Abstract In August 2015 a group of seven students and staff from Liverpool Hope University in the UK visited the SOS Children’s Village just outside Galle town in Southern Sri Lanka, to partake in a two week residential program ‘Global Hope’, teaching English to children between four and fifteen. Below is lecturer Dr Rachel Sweeney’s account of their experiences at the SOS Village, reflecting on a range of somatic educational tools as applied to the pedagogic focus of teaching English through movement and music, and focusing broadly on the education values of somatics as placed within an interdisciplinary embodied approach. The paper will follow the pedagogic approach to teaching English through creative play, where the emphasis is on inclusivity and individual agency, allowing for more receptive learning through familiarity with lessons often centred around rhythmic exercises that emphasise repetition through call and response alongside gestural movement and song. These learning practices follow a constructivist approach to pedagogy where the physical embodiment of the image or word allows children to take ownership over their learning, while engaging widely with each other as also the young student teachers. In presenting an extended case study of the above creative arts programs that are designed to prioritise kinaesthetic learning methods whilst implementing English speaking and writing skills, this paper will also engage with a wider political overview of the Centre’s mission aims, which respond to the vast spectrum of southern Sri Lanka’s social and economic problems. Keywords: creative pedagogy, kinaesthetic learning, language skills, ecology, rhythmic training 摘要 2015年8月，来自英国利物浦赫普大学的学生和教职人员一行7人参观了斯里兰卡南部加勒镇郊外的SOS儿童村，参加为期两周的住宿计划 “全球希望” ，教授四岁到十五岁的儿童英语。以下是讲师Rachel Sweeney博士对他们在SOS村经历的描述，对一系列侧重使用动作和音乐进行英语教学的身心教育工具进行了反思，聚焦于跨学科具身教学法中身心学广泛的教育价值。本文将采用创造性游戏的教学方法教授英语，强调包容性和个体能动性，考虑到更具接受性的学习方式，通常结合手势与歌曲，以相互应答的方式进行节奏练习，强调重复性，以此熟悉课文。这些学习实践遵循建构主义的教学法，其中以肢体具身化的方式体验图像或单词允许孩子们自主学习，同时也与年轻的实习老师大量地互动。本文除了介绍一个运用上述创造性艺术课程的具体案例，旨在展示优先运用动觉学习方法，教授英语口语和写作技能的方式，还将从政治层面概述该项目中心的使命目标，以应对斯里兰卡南部广泛层面的社会和经济问题。 关键词: 创造性教学法，动觉学习，语言技巧，生态学，节奏训练

Conversations with young people: Using a creative arts outreach programme to access, mobilise and activate capital to navigate to higher education

This study examined how a Creative Arts Initiative (CAI) outreach program could develop aspirations for higher education among students from low-SES backgrounds in Western Australia. Using the lens of bio-ecological systems and social capital frameworks, the Creative Arts program was examined as a facilitator of interactions between students and embedded social resources. The proposed model suggests a process where accessed resources can be mobilised into capital and activated as required to aid students’ transitions into higher education. We hypothesised that mentors and role models as embedded resources would help students in low-ICSEA schools to build creative arts skills and competencies and acquire ‘real-world’ information about post-school university participation. Focus group data were collected from 28 participants in four schools. Students reported positive interactions with role models and mentors and personal development. Data analysis identified opportunities for acquisition of new skills and for mobilising resources into capital. Findings support the proposition that mobilisation and activation of newly acquired capital increase students’ navigational capacity to achieve desired post-school goals. Resource-rich outreach programmes can be useful to engage students in learning, to acquire technical and interpersonal skills, for personal development, and as an activation tool for social and cultural capital to aid in post-school transitions.

AN ACTING AND IMPROV CLASS: WELL-BEING AND COMMUNITY BELONGING FOR OLDER AFRICAN AMERICANS IN LOW-INCOME HOUSING

Arts-based interventions can enhance the quality of life of older adults, but community-dwelling older adults may have reduced access to such interventions. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a creative arts program can improve the overall health and well-being of older adults in low-income housing. A university social work department and community agency collaborated in establishing a professionally run theater group of older adults in two low-income housing buildings in an urban area. All residents were encouraged to participate. The study consisted of three twelve-week acting and improvisation courses, focusing on either staged reading of monologues and dialogues, co-writing a script, or staged reading of a complete play. Each class culminated in a public performance for the building. Fourteen participants enrolled, all African American (11 women, 3 men; mean age 66 years; mean ADL = 1.4 (range of 1-2.5)). Attendance on average was 8 classes. Data were collected through pre- and post-test questionnaires, participant observation of class sessions, semi-structured interviews with building managers, and post-session participant reflections. Thematic analysis was performed, and revealed key themes of increased community belonging, increased confidence, and increased daily coping abilities. Additional themes included the gaining of new artistic skills and interest in continuing classes. Barriers to participation included difficulty in recruitment and absence due to ongoing health conditions and caregiving responsibilities. This project has implications for the potential of arts-based programming to increase well-being for underrepresented community-dwelling older adults.

FINDINGS FROM THE ALZHEIMER’S POETRY PROJECT LONG-TERM CARE IMPLEMENTATION STUDY

Dementia interventions grounded in group participation in the cultural arts (e.g., poetry, storytelling, music, and dance) have been growing in reach in recent decades. Yet this growth has been stymied by a lack of empirical evidence to demonstrate measurable outcomes. In the current IRB-approved research study, the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project (APP), in partnership with 15 Wisconsin nursing homes, provided staff training in an innovative non-pharmacological intervention for people living with dementia. The goal of APP is to facilitate creative self-expression, social and intellectual stimulation, respectful acceptance, validation of personhood, and valued inclusion of people living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias through the performance and creation of poetry. APP’s proven track record at over 500 facilities in 34 states and six countries internationally, serving over 40,000 people worldwide, demonstrates APP’s ability to bring high-quality creative arts programming to people living with dementia. Through the implementation of APP in three groups of five nursing homes in Wisconsin, activities and care staff were trained to deliver the intervention over three-month periods. After training was completed, researchers evaluated and compared APP to non-arts programming in the same facilities. A novel dementia arts mapping technique was created to document observable impacts of interventions on social engagement, alertness, vocalization, vocabulary, affect, and self-expression. 35 interventions were documented, and variability in participant experiences reveal significantly greater impacts on personhood and creativity during the 11 APP interventions than during the 24 non-arts interventions. Implications for promoting dementia care programming grounded in group participatory arts will be discussed.

Queering Queer Spaces: Journey of a Creative Arts Program for Trans, Non-Binary, and Gender Creative Youth

As community spaces for LGBTQ+ individuals continue to expand and evolve, a variety of music and art-based programs have begun to develop. The potential for creative arts therapists to cultivate and expand these programs is without question. This article seeks to present one such program targeted towards transgender, nonbinary, gender creative, and questioning youth, age 10-14, who are seeking support in navigating their gender identity and the challenges of identifying outside of the “norm” of cisgender. Finding ourselves at a crossroads between traditional clinical mental health services and community-based approaches, we discuss the intentionality behind “queering” our program development as well as a spectrum of challenges and opportunities faced in piloting the program. We suggest that bringing creative arts therapy into queer spaces must be done through an anti-oppressive approach seeking to minimize power dynamics and increase safety. We must also create inclusive spaces that embrace intersectionality in order to provide safe, accessible, and empowering programs for LGBTQ+ individuals.

About Outreach: Prison Transformation through Creative Writing Design

About Outreach:Prison Transformation through Creative Writing Design Adelle Sefton-Rowston (bio) The YWrite project investigates the role of creative writing in prisons through a state-of-the-art prison education program designed specifically for incarcerated women and children in the Northern Territory. The workshops teach incarcerated students how to express themselves through creative writing in various forms of prison prose, graffiti art, and storytelling. Graffiti constitutes a special genre of writing that has been deployed by prisoners to reflect on their circumstance, to protest their penal incarceration, or even to transform their understanding. Because "graffiti" remains unconstrained by traditional writing conventions (of spelling, grammar, and punctuation), such writing provides a space for resistant writers or those of lower literacy levels to write intuitively. A writer of graffiti can articulate messages with a sense of urgency, uninhibited by conventional expectations of normative writing. The aims of the project are to foster motivation and self-efficacy through creativity, which in turn can lead to improved self-image and reduced emotional stress, an increase in literacy, and more postrelease opportunities. A major outcome of the program will allow detainees to share their "stories" through the publication or exhibition of their work, which will in turn contribute insights for society's understanding of effective prison arts programs and the effects of writing to transform. Why is this project important to the Northern Territory? In 2016, the Four Corners program "Australia's Shame" revealed the ongoing abuse of Indigenous youth in Darwin's Don Dale Youth Detention Centre and sparked many reasons why a penal system that does not rehabilitate at-risk Indigenous people should be completely transformed, if not abolished. Footage from the program showed children as young as twelve years old being punished with the use of restraint chairs, covered in spit-hoods, and locked up in isolation cells for indefinite periods of time. Such cruel and archaic forms of punishment have not far progressed since the fourteenth to nineteenth centuries in Europe, when criminals were punished with infliction and discomfort to their bodies through humiliation—or, to a worse extent, maimed, flogged, or sen-tenced to death. In Australia, Ronald Ryan was the last man to be executed at Pentridge Prison, and it was only in 1967. Yet even after the thirtieth anniversary of the Royal Commission into the Aboriginal deaths in custody, there remains a lack of willingness to transform prisons into places of support and rehabilitation for those who are incarcerated (who are mostly victims of domestic violence, the poorest of the poor, and those suffering from mental illness). The absence of a model of care to transform prisons in [End Page 432] Australia points to a gap in national consciousness regarding the humanity of those who are incarcerated. So why a creative arts program? Since the abuse of Indigenous children in Darwin's Done Dale Detention Centre was exposed, several fiction books on the theme of Indigenous incarceration in Australia have been published, including Kim Scott's Taboo, Paul Collis's Dancing Home, and some of the stories in Tony Birch's Common People. Such texts include the bitter fear of an alleged offender being chased by police authorities and the appalling circumstances of incarceration once caught. Yet these stories also show how the grit and determination of a few characters can transform prisons into places of colonial freedom when language and culture are strong, when there are opportunities to write, to share stories, and to empower oneself in preparation for release on the outside. To write is one of the most empowering acts of rebellion one can take—whether in the form of a novel or as graffiti written on a concrete wall. To write is to protest by creating the new formation of words in a different order to realize something new. Graffiti has a broad yet unique readership: it is not always read by choice, but nonetheless it has a fluid and encompassing range of readers—it is for everybody. The writing of graffiti is not an autonomous or mono act but can speak to many people in various ways. In prisons, for example, graffiti may communicate with inmates, prison staff, or perhaps even tourists...

The Meaning of a Visual Arts Program for Older Adults in Complex Residential Care.

ABSTRACTThis qualitative study explores the experiences of older adults participating in a creative visual arts program at a residential care facility in Victoria, British Columbia. A narrative inquiry approach was used to conduct face-to-face interviews with 10 residents and three program staff in addition to the systematic observations of program activities and an arts exhibit. The findings reveal the program fostered a sense of community among participants and enhanced their sense of self-worth as artists. A public art exhibition at a community centre underlined the value of residents' artwork and gave meaning and purpose to their involvement in the program. Findings show the importance of arts programs in fostering creativity in later life and illustrate how people living in institutions can experience multiple dimensions of the self through artistic forms of expression. This study highlights the need to increase access to arts programs for individuals living in residential care.

Development and evaluation of an innovative creative arts program on a tertiary palliative care unit.

167 Background: The use of creative arts in palliative care is a unique psychosocial-spiritual intervention, yet there are limited evaluation studies of these programs. The purpose of this presentation is to describe the development and evaluation of a creative arts program, entitled “Tile Tales,” on a 20-bed tertiary palliative care unit. Methods: The “Tile Tales” program encourages the creative exploration of emotions, values and beliefs through the creation of a visual expression on a ceramic tile, with an accompanying story. In this second phase of a three-phase evaluation, participants (18 years or older) were asked to complete a survey at the end of their experience. Results: Over a two-year period (January, 2016 – December, 2017), 40 tiles were completed by 52 participants. Children under 18 years (n = 16) were excluded from further analysis. Twenty-one of 36 adult participants (58%) completed surveys, consisting of family members (n = 9, 43%), patients (n = 6, 28.5%) and staff (n = 6, 28.5%). Participants rated their experience as very meaningful (M 4.8, SD 0.5, scale 0-5). The three highest average impact scores (scale 0-5) were: raising spirits (M 4.9, SC 0.3), expression of feelings (M 4.6, SD .6) and working through grief (M 4.6, SD 0.7). Qualitative comments included themes of gratitude, leaving a legacy, meaning and connecting with others. Conclusions: This innovative creative arts program benefited patients, family and staff, in the expression of emotions and sharing personal stories. These findings will assist with improving program delivery and future planning of the creative arts in palliative care.