The beach and memories of seaside holidays will be coming to Canterbury this autumn as part of the Being Human Festival, the UK’s national festival of humanities.
Canterbury Christ Church University academics will be working in partnership with Canterbury Christ Church Creatives and the Kent Forget-Me-Nots, a group of people living with dementia who ‘are not willing to sit back and let life pass them by’, to bring Beach City Canterbury: creative and craft workshop to the city, to help members reminisce and provide talking points with carers and family members.
Over 900,000 people in the UK have a dementia diagnosis, and many activities can become inaccessible and difficult for those living with dementia and their supporters to attend. Beach City Canterbury has been designed in collaboration with Keith Oliver from the Kent Forget-Me-Nots and aims to offer members of local dementia support groups a fun and engaging afternoon through object handling, place-based memory prompts and creative crafts.
Keith is a Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KPMT) Dementia Envoy and one of the founding members of the Kent Forget-Me-Nots. Keith was diagnosed with young onset dementia at the age of 55, and has worked since to educate professionals, raise awareness of living with dementia at a national and international level, and engage in the national debate on improving dementia care through public speaking and a series of books.
Often when someone has a dementia diagnosis, their future life seems to take on a downward trajectory. What engagement in a service user group does is provide peer support and a sense of still being able to contribute. If we bring in creativity to the mix, the quality of life, for both the person with the diagnosis and their supporter, is greatly enhanced. This event will do both.
Keith Oliver, KPMT Dementia Envoy and founding member of Kent Forget-Me-Nots
Professor Carolyn Oulton is the project lead and Professor of Victorian Literature at the University, she will share her research expertise in Kent’s seaside history and draw on her own experience as a poet and creative writing tutor to facilitate the workshops. She said: “We are delighted to once again be part of the Being Human Festival, and this time working with our creative colleagues and the Kent Forget-Me-Nots to support members of our community living with dementia.
“This group is often under-represented in the areas of literary and artistic production, despite research suggesting how beneficial and empowering such activities can be. Our event will use past experiences of beach holidays, often landmarks events in the lives of children, to engage with people with dementia by drawing on place-based memory prompts. We hope that our attendees will feel empowered and will have found new ways to communicate their personal stories.”
Canterbury Christ Church Creatives is a group of students and staff from Canterbury Christ Church University that come together to craft for enjoyment and wellbeing, and to teach and learn skills. They will transform a local hall into a seaside setting with the smells and sights of the seaside, and of course ice creams, to evoke memories and prompt conversations. Images of local landmarks will include lighthouses and tourist hotspots such as Dover Castle and Bleak House in Broadstairs. Copies of images and postcards from the University archives, and lines from fiction set in Kent seaside towns will also be used to stimulate imaginative responses to these famous heritage locations. Participants will be supported to design their own postcards, highlighting the importance of the seaside as a vehicle for reminiscence and recognition.
Jae Fowler from Canterbury Christ Church Creatives added: “We are honoured to be taking part in this amazing project. We know as collective how arts and crafts can support good wellbeing and a sense of community and we are sure that this event will help our attendees to engage in conversations with their loved ones and supporters and reminisce about old times, as well as help to make new memories on the day.”
Beach City Canterbury: creative and craft workshop will take place in November for members of the Forget-Me-Nots. For more information on the Forget-Me-Nots visit: https://www.kmpt.nhs.uk/get-involved/participation-and-involvement/living-with-dementia/forget-me-nots/
Notes to editors
This event is part of Being Human Festival, the UK’s national festival of the humanities, taking place 7–16 November 2024. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, with generous support from Research England, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. For further information please see beinghumanfestival.org.