Ready, set, draw – Newbury care home residents take part in worldwide art festival

Home news

Oct 29, 2020

Residents at a care home in Newbury picked up their pencils and went back to the drawing board for The Big Draw Festival 2020 for a good cause.

Care UK’s Winchcombe Place, on Maple Crescent, celebrated all things nature by creating works of art around this year’s theme, ‘a Climate of Change’. 

As part of their event, residents and team members have been working together to create drawings and paintings representing climate change, featuring planet Earth, nature elements such as trees, leaves and flowers, as well as animals. The works of art will later be auctioned to raise funds for Air Ambulance Charity.

Launched in 2000 as part of the ‘Campaign for Drawing’, the month-long Big Draw Festival promotes drawing as a tool for learning, expression and invention, and has encouraged over four million people to get arty since its inception. ‘A Climate of Change’, this year’s theme, focuses on the relationship between people and their environment, and offers a great opportunity for older people to reminisce about their favourite nature spots, as well as trips to the great outdoors in their younger years, and how our focus looking after our planet has changed in recent years. 

Kerry Thompson, Home Manager at Winchcombe Place, said: “It was wonderful to take part in The Big Draw for the second year – everyone had a great time putting their drawing skills to the test, especially for a good cause.

“Creative activities play a big part of life here at Winchcombe Place, and we actively encourage residents to continue lifelong arty hobbies and try new expressive pastimes. Drawing has a variety of benefits for older people, especially those living with dementia, as it provides an alternative way to communicate and express emotions, and an opportunity to relive happy memories.

“We certainly have some budding artists at the home, and we’re looking forward to showcase all of our masterpieces ahead of the auction very soon.”

After a successful participation in the Big Draw Festival last year, Care UK renewed its partnership in 2020, becoming the main health and social care partner and leading the way in changing perceptions of life in a care home by promoting activity-based care and encouraging other care homes to follow suit. Across the country, more than 70 homes have been getting arty and working with their local communities virtually to create works of art around the theme ‘A Climate of Change’.

Winchcombe Place is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, nursing, dementia and short-term respite care. The care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities and includes its own cinema, hair salon and café.

To find out more about Winchcombe Place, please call customer relations manager, Vicki Lambourne, on 0333 321 1923, or email vicki.lambourne@careuk.com

To find out more about Care UK’s partnership with the Big Draw, and for more top tips on how you and your loved ones can get involved at home, visit careuk.com/care-homes/bigdraw

To find out more about the Big Draw festival, please go to thebigdraw.org