Appleby House celebrates successful arty open day

Home news

Jul 17, 2019

There were celebrations all round when the team at Appleby House welcomed the local community in for a day of art-themed fun and games.

The team were joined by local people to enjoy Care Home Open Day, a countrywide initiative set up to develop lasting relationships between care homes and local communities, and to dispel common myths about care home life.   

This year’s theme celebrates the role of arts within care, which is important in encouraging residents’ self-expression, and helps to create meaningful experiences.

Residents and visitors enjoyed an art-themed party with the unveiling of Appleby House’s 'Pillars of the Community' project, which saw local community groups, including the ambulance services, police force and fire services, to help design and decorate a pillar. Guests also enjoyed a special performance from the residents’ choir, as well as still-life painting and pottery sculpting. 

Guests, resident and team members also got together to create a copy of a Van Gogh painting, named ‘Garden with Flowers’. Everyone did a little bit of the painting each to make the full picture.

As part of a nationwide competition for all Care UK homes, Appleby House developed a work of art in the lead up to the open day, which was unveiled at the event.

Shona Bradbury, home manager at Appleby House, said: “We had a fantastic time celebrating Care Home Open Day atAppleby House. The resident choir really enjoyed performing for everyone, and it was brilliant to see so many of our neighbours come along for the party. 

“Care Home Open Day is all about building bridges with our local community, and showing what life in a care home is really like, and we certainly had fun doing so. We would like to say a big thank you to the people of Epsom for celebrating with us.”