Etching to go! Halstead care home residents take part in worldwide art festival

Residents at a care home in Halstead picked up their pencils and went back to the drawing board for The Big Draw Festival 2021.

Residents and team members at Care UK’s Colne View, on Dame Mary Walk, have partnered with pioneering charity, The Big Draw, for a third successful year to promote the therapeutic benefits of drawing for expression and promoting positive wellbeing. 

As part of their event, residents and team members created works of art around the theme of climate change, while also talking about how the world has changed over the years.

Launched in 2000 as part of the ‘Campaign for Drawing’, the month-long Big Draw Festival promotes drawing as a tool for learning, and invention, and has encouraged over four million people to get arty since its inception. ‘Make the Change’, this year’s theme, focuses on the relationship between people and their living environments, and offers a great opportunity for older people to reminisce about their favourite nature spots, how the environment has changed, and look to the future at what action can be taken to help safeguard the natural world in light of the climate crisis. 

Kim Richardson, Senior Customer Relations Manager at Colne View, said: “It was wonderful to take part in The Big Draw for the third year – the residents were quick off the draw to get involved and put their drawing skills to the test. 

“Creative activities play a big part of life here at Colne View, and we actively encourage residents to continue lifelong arty hobbies and try new expressive pastimes through imaginative and creative activities planned by our lifestyle team. 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 here at Colne View, and we can’t wait to display our works of art around the home.”

After a successful participation in the Big Draw Festival in the past two years, Care UK renewed its partnership in 2021 as 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, Care UK homes have been getting creative and working with their local communities virtually to create works of art around the theme ‘Make the Change’. 

Colne View is a care home designed to deliver the very best standards of care, and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives. The home offers a range of services including residential care, specialist dementia care and respite care.

To find out more about Colne View, please contact Senior Customer Relations Manager, Kim Richardson, 01787 389474 or email kim.richardson@careuk.com.

For more general information, visit careuk.com/care-homes/colne-view.