The first IMAGINED research workshop takes place in Edinburgh

Our IMAGINED research project with the Edinburgh Centre for Research on the Experience of Dementia (ECRED) has got off to a flying start with a knowledge-exchange and co-design workshop at St Columba’s Hospice Care’s No.17 building overlooking Wardie Bay to the north of Edinburgh.

IMAGINED stands for Investigating Meaning-making and the cocreation of Guidelines for Evaluation IN participatory Arts for Dementia. The project is led by ECRED in partnership with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, University of Florida, Queen Margaret University, St Columba’s Hospice Care, Music in Hospitals & Care and Scottish Ballet. It is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

The hybrid workshop (with some members joining online) provided an opportunity to bring the team together (including project investigators, researchers, musicians, dancers, organisational partners, lived experience advisors, and our co-production group) and create an environment that was inclusive, creative and inspiring. The aims were to learn from each other, build connections, ‘horizontalise’ research power structures, foster critical and creative thinking, and to collaborate.

Break out exercises included exploring key concepts and terms identified in the IMAGINED project: meaning, meaning-making, dementia, holistic health, wellbeing, arts, and participation. The groups were also invited to identify any missing words that they thought were significant for the project. This included: person-centred, process, personalisation, communication, and cross-pollination. This work will help to create a shared language and understanding for these concepts.

Scottish Ballet and Music in Hospitals & Care led breakout groups to discuss case studies and highlighted examples, such as:

• Supporting individuals living with dementia in care home settings
• Working with groups of residents living with dementia in a mental health setting
• Working with organisations to support regular drop-in community café for people living with dementia, carers, friends and family
• Working with partners, such as Alzheimer’s Society, to bring Singing for the Brain sessions to those living with dementia

The day was punctuated by ‘Creative Energisers’ led by Music in Hospitals & Care and Scottish Ballet. These sessions used movement, sound, rhythm and body percussion to get everyone’s bodies moving and build a sense of togetherness. It stimulated thinking about how to evaluate both emotional and physical engagement.

Beyond the structured sessions, the team were also encouraged to reflect throughout the day using creative methods, which included a Polaroid camera to take photographs; poetry, writing and drawing in notebooks; walks in the gardens to take a breath and enjoy the views.

The next phase of the project will be a study of Music in Hospitals & Care and Scottish Ballet’s work across key locations where arts and dementia programmes are delivered. A survey will also be created to map arts and dementia programmes across the UK and to understand the current evaluation practices used. The data captured will inform co-produced evaluation guidelines.

We look forward to sharing more as the project progresses.

Adapted from the IMAGINED workshop at St Columba’s Hospice Care ECRED blog post