24/09/2026
24th September every year is National Arts in Care Homes Day – a day for care homes to recognise the importance of creativity in their residents' lives. We know that for many care homes, when you're balancing the physical needs of residents with staff shortages and cuts, it can be a tough ask to deliver an arts workshop. But the evidence is strong that a holistic approach to elder and dementia care can improve more than just a gallery wall – Dementia United launched their Creativity in Care Homes project in 2022 and have since found that 'residents were observed to eat and sleep better, they exhibited less anxiety, were more engaged with their environment'.
For 6 months in 2025 – 26, we worked with Croydon Creative Health to create a capacity building programme. During these workshops, we supported 34 care workers from 17 care settings to learn sensory and creative activities that would embolden them to engage creatively with their residents. Following the sessions, we also created a take away guide they could refer back to, and one participant said 'I’m excited to apply the ideas around improved communication and being more intentional in my approach going forward'. We hope that with more confidence-building and skills-developing projects such as this, more residents in care homes will feel the benefits.
To see how we engage with residents with dementia in care homes, why not check out the Watch and Listen galleries on our website, where you'll find photos from our previous It All Makes Sensory workshops.
www.sparetyre.org/watch-and-listen
Images here are from It All Makes Sensory at Acacia Care Centre, 2025. Photos by Jon Cardwell.
Image descriptions:
1) Paint being poured into plastic trays
2) Seated residents in a care home painting on a large piece of paper on the floor with long homemade brushes
3) Two people seated holding hands
4) Esme, smiling, holding up a piece of paper which has been painted on
5) A resident looks at her artwork with amazement
