Artwork produced during the Creative & Curious project, delivered in partnership between Hampshire Cultural Trust and Dementia-Friendly Alton (DFA), with St Lawrence School, and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, will be on display in the Allen Gallery café from Thursday 4 to Saturday 13 May. The artwork on display will include clay tiles and lino prints made by the schoolchildren and Dementia-Friendly Alton members and their carers. Members work was inspired by the gallery’s garden as well as tiles and pots from the nationally and internationally significant ceramic collection which is on display at the Allen Gallery in Alton.
Developed in response to local need and a growing elderly population in the Alton area, Creative and Curious was an eight-week programme for older people, supported by volunteers from DFA and the Allen Gallery, for members to take part in creative workshops from local creative practitioners. Activities included clay modelling, printmaking and exploring the natural world through tactile materials. The workshops also considered stories and experiences around memory loss, and the comfort of familiar and everyday routines and objects. Building on DFA’s existing experience of working with the St Lawrence School, children from Year 5 and 6 discussed their feelings around dementia and the ways people may feel more supported along with members from DFA.
Nancy Peskett, Community Programmes Coordinator at the Allen Gallery in Allton commented, ‘we are delighted to be partnering with DFA, who received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in December 2022 and will be visiting Buckingham Palace this month, taking a selection of members’ work which they have compiled during the Creative and Curious project into a story called The King's Shoes. The story had inspiration from the upcoming coronation and considers emotions around memory loss and ageing, and the comfort of the familiar.’
There was a key emphasis on displaying work from all members of the group, to create a positive culmination of the project and ensure all who were involved were able to see the work they created on display and invite friends, family and carers to see it to.
For more information about Creative and Curious and for venue opening times, please visit https://www.hampshireculture.org.uk/event/creative-curious.
The Creative and Curious programme is due to resume later in the summer of 2023 as part of the gallery's ongoing delivery of activities for older people and other local community groups as part of Hampshire Cultural Trust’s Rediscovering the Allen Gallery project.
Find out more about HCT’s Rediscovering the Allen Gallery project here https://www.hampshireculture.org.uk/support-us/rediscovering-allen-gallery.