Working together with older people

Luminate is an annual, Scotland-wide festival of creative ageing launched in October 2012. Like the rest of the UK, Scotland has an ageing population with a 50% increase in over sixties projected by 2033. And yet the annual Scottish Household Survey shows that cultural participation decreases with age. We aim to inspire older people to become involved in the arts, and also encourage more artists and cultural organisations to think about older people in their programming and planning, not only during the festival but also for the other months of the year.

Creative Scotland and the Baring Foundation initiated the festival and approached Age Scotland to come on board as the third founding partner. The national ageing charity has played a key role in our development ever since. From the launch, we have included events from the Scottish Borders to Shetland with a programme of activities aimed at older participants and audiences, intergenerational projects that bring young and old together, and work that explores what it means to all of us that our society is ageing.

Our colleagues at Age Scotland are deepening their understanding of the importance of arts and creative activities in the lives of older people

This year’s programme includes an aerial choreography project working with older dancers in Greenock, a series of arts activities in care homes in Shetland, a pop-up photographic exhibition, print-making workshops, a new theatre production by a 60+ company, and much more. There are around 400 activities on offer during October, but we are a small organisation and none of it would be possible without collaboration, both locally and nationally. All the projects are developed and produced in partnership with cultural organisations, artists and communities across the country. We work with professional and amateur artists of all ages, voluntary groups and care providers, adult education services and libraries. Embedding the work in local areas is vital if the festival is to play a role in encouraging the development of this work year-round.

Central to our work from the outset has been our relationship with Age Scotland. Initially, we were set up as a project within Age Scotland, but we realised quickly that a sustainable future was much more likely if Luminate became independent. We therefore became a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation in 2014, but we remain based in Age Scotland’s offices, and it gives us significant in-kind support in addition to a small grant. Its finance team does our bookkeeping; its communications staff helps us promote the festival to older people across the country; and its community development officers encourage groups and individuals to become involved in the festival each year. Our team members are included in Age Scotland’s staff training and awaydays.

Age Scotland has played a key role in some festival events too, by hosting activities and exhibitions in its shops, and now with the appointment of two Men’s Sheds development officers, we can widen our work with the Scottish Men’s Sheds programme in future years. Age Scotland member groups are also active participants in our programme, this year including the Red Road Young Uns choir from Springburn in Glasgow, and the Massed Ukuleles of the University of the Third Age in Dundee and Perth.

Age Scotland’s in-kind support makes a vital contribution to our running costs, but alongside this there is no doubt that our close working relationship has had significant two-way benefits. We gain from its knowledge, expertise and networks, and our colleagues at Age Scotland are deepening their understanding of the importance of arts and creative activities in the lives of older people.

Collaboration with partners outside the arts, including ageing charities, is far from unique, but there’s a depth to the relationship between us from our origins as part of the charity that in my experience is unusual. Age Scotland’s contribution to the early development of the festival and involvement in our wider work helps our programme genuinely reflect the diversity of older people in Scotland, and takes our work to communities that we might otherwise struggle to reach.

Anne Gallacher is Director of Luminate.
www.luminatescotland.org
@luminatescot
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