Ready, set, draw – Stratford-upon-Avon care home residents take part in worldwide art festival

Home news

Nov 17, 2020

Residents at a care home in Stratford-upon-Avon picked up their pencils and went back to the drawing board for The Big Draw Festival 2020.

Care UK’s Ambleside, on Evesham Road, celebrated all things nature by creating works of art around this year’s theme, ‘a Climate of Change’.  

As part of their event, residents asked children in the community to create colourful hand-drawn feathers and decorate them however they wished. The feathers were then added to a swan sculpture made out of recycled materials to highlight the negative impacts of littering on the local wildlife.  

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. 

Julia Joy, Home Manager at Ambleside, said: “We had a great time taking part in The Big Draw again this year, and it was a wonderful opportunity to put our creativity to the test.

“The arts are a huge part of life here at Ambleside, and even though we may have been unable to meet in person, it was fantastic to receive contributions from children in the community. As well as being a great way to develop our artistic skills, creative activities wonderful way to improve wellbeing and provide older people with a sense of purpose.

“We’d like to thank everyone who sent us feathers for our swan art piece, and we can’t wait to join forces again soon for some arty fun!”

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’.

Ambleside is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, dementia and nursing care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable its residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own cinema, café and hair salon, and there is plenty of space, both indoors and out, for relaxation and recreation.

To find out more about Ambleside care home call Customer Relations Manager, Gary Hulme on 01789 868 298, or email, gary.hulme @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