#celebratingage

[juliocesartist8]

Man and Best Friend

Man and Best Friend

A big hello to you all after a short break from posting and warm welcome to the new followers! I am happy to have completed, the latest addition to my Golden Years series.Man and best friend.  Feed back as alway appreciated. Happy week. Julio

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[interwovenhistories]

Touchstone’s Cha Da Cup group co-create and publish poem with Ian Duhig

Continuing our partnership with Touchstone’s BME Dementia Service, poet Ian Duhig hosted two workshops with the Sikh Elders Cha Da Cup group who regularly attend Touchstone. The workshops have been a fantastic celebration of food, culture and personal stories and have resulted in the group poem ‘The Meaning of Food’. We are pleased to share that this group poem has been selected for publishing in the new Sewerby Hall Cookbook by New Zealand artist Ahilapalapa Rands.

These workshops have been a ‘feast of words’, as Ian encouraged the group to think about their favourite food, and what was special about it. We explored everything from how it is made, who it is made by, the ingredients, how long it’s cooked for, the smells, the textures, the taste and the whole experience of eating. The theme stimulated rich discussion about everybody’s favourite meals and what makes them extra special; it was fascinating to hear the stories, memories and experiences of enjoying everyone’s most savoured meal.

“My wife doesn’t eat meat, and I do. She cooks me food with meat in but even though she never tastes it, it’s always perfect.”

“I would eat dal every single day, and I’d always be happy. There are so many different types of dal, and it’s always got ginger, garlic and turmeric. Each ingredient is good for your body in different ways, which is why we always have them.”

The group explored their first impressions of British food, which they described as “pheeka”, meaning bland and unseasoned in Punjabi. They did, however, express their love of a nice portion of fish, chips and mushy peas wrapped in newspaper. This happy memory of food brought back treasured times by the beach, in the warm summer sunshine, back in the day when chips were just 6p a portion!

The discussion of food brought back other memories, for some people the discussion reminded them of times before they moved to England.

“I left India when I was very young. We moved to Africa, but I always had this memory of walking through the villages in India and you could smell the cooking coming from each house. For years, I craved that food so much, until I finally went back to India 36 years later.”

“There’s nothing I don’t like. It’s all in the preparation for me. If it is made with care, I am happy. My favourite would be boiled rice with vegetables, garlic, ginger and green chilli. I like it spicy.”

“Sometimes I make chapatti. You can have different breads too; roti, bhatura, salty and aloo potatoes are stuffed into the roti. I just can’t pick one, I love every food!”

“I make my own yogurt. I boil milk, and then use my finger as a temperature gauge to see if it’s hot enough. Then I add a little bit of culture and mix it and put it into my flask at 10pm. By the morning it is good, and ready for me to enjoy. I love it and my wife loves when I make it. I was shown how to use my finger to tell the temperature when I was a child. I am known as the yogurt maker in my family.”

“I love corn chapattis. I’d walk to London for a corn chapatti.”

The discussion highlighted how integral food is to our identity and culture. Sharing food is an important aspect of our social lives, and we love to share and enjoy food together. After each session, we get together to share a delicious warm curry.

Throughout the workshops, Ian encouraged the group to think about their foods in terms of poetry and some group members are planning to work on their own piece of poetry to bring to the group and share in our next session.

Interwoven Histories aims to engage elders from different BME communities, and in the upcoming months we will be reaching out to people from different communities. If you know someone or a group of people who may like to get involved in this creative project, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

[interwovenhistories]

Touchstone’s Cha Da Cup group create silhouette portraits with artist Simon Warner and his antique chair

As part of part of Pavilion’s on-going partnership with Touchstone’s BME Dementia Service, artist Simon Warner delivered a workshop with the Sikh elders Cha Da Cup group who regularly attend groups to exercise, enjoy a meal, meet with friends and get involved in lots of different activities.

Simon’s workshop was centred on creating silhouettes, an age-old art form which first became popular in the mid 1700’s due to the work of physiognomist Johann Caspar Lavater. There was an air of mystery before the workshop, as we began setting up a large antique chair designed to create silhouettes of the sitter’s profile.

When the group had finished their regular Tai Chi exercise routine, we welcomed them to listen to Simon’s explanation of the chair and a short introduction to the art of silhouettes and shadow portraiture. Working in pairs, we took it in turns to sit for our portraits, while our partners drew our silhouettes. It was fascinating to see the details the silhouettes brought up and we could easily identify the person featured in the shadow portrait due to each individual’s distinctive features. It is important to sit very still whilst sitting for your portrait, which was a challenge for some people, and even more of a challenge for their partner’s who had to draw them!

One gentleman reminisced about a time when he (almost) had his silhouette drawn by a portrait artist at the beach:

“I remember going to Blackpool beach many years ago, there was a man there drawing portraits by hand… he didn’t have a chair like this. There was a long queue and it was very popular. After waiting a while, I finally got to the front of the queue and I was told I wouldn’t be able to have my silhouette drawn because he didn’t know how to draw my turban!”

Once the silhouettes were drawn out, we worked on reducing the size of the portrait which would then be cut out and mounted. Using a pantograph to reduce the size of the silhouettes brought back happy memories for some members of the group, as they recalled learning to use these in school.

When everyone had finalised their shadow portraits, we gathered together to see each other’s work and celebrate everyone’s creations. We look forward to our next arts workshop with this group in February.

Interwoven Histories aims to engage elders from different BME communities, and in the upcoming months we will be reaching out to elders from Roma and Caribbean communities. If you know someone or a group of people who may like to get involved in this creative project, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

For more information on the Interwoven Histories project please contact:

Georgina Baker (Arts Worker – BME Dementia Service)

Touchstone Support Centre, 53-55 Harehills Avenue, Leeds, LS8 4EX

[email protected]

0113 219 2727

[interwovenhistories]

Artist film workshop with Touchstone’s Hamari Yaadain Group

As part of the Interwoven Histories Art workshops, Pavilion held a movie morning with members of Touchstone’s BME Dementia Service’s Hamari Yaadain Dementia Café.

Will brought along a projector to the group and showed Nathaniel Dorsky’s 16mm silent film Autumn (2016). Towards the end of 2015, Dorsky captured footage of the seasonal changes we see in the world around us and created this film, which explores the changing seasons with reference to the changes we experience in our later years.

Prior to showing the film, we discussed our experience of watching films and some members of the group shared happy memories of when they used to frequent the cinema:

“We used to go to the cinema a lot but we don’t anymore. It’s easier for us to watch TV at home…” – Mr. C.

“We used to go to Cottage Road Cinema in Headingley and watch the Bollywood films… it was very popular” - Mr. S.

This discussion of film and the cinema awakened many memories for the group, and they were keen to watch the film Will had selected.

Going to the cinema is a fantastic social and cultural activity, which as Mr C pointed out, can become increasingly difficult with age. Coming to Touchstone to watch the film has made this experience more accessible for the group, as it is a place they are familiar with and they know they will be supported when they come here.

The film offered a relaxing and meditative sensory experience, showcasing the natural lights, shapes, patterns and colours we see in nature. The film stimulated an interesting discussion about how film is a way of capturing a particular time, and it becomes a memory which we can look back on together. We discussed how film also helps us to consider the passage of time and we reflect on what has changed between the time of the film and the present moment. One member of the group noticed that film can capture more detail than we would normally see, and in bringing small, intimate details to our attention we are able to appreciate the delicate and changing beauty within nature.

“I felt the film was about looking at creation, it made me think about how everything on earth grows, dies, grows and dies again” - Mrs D.

Watching this film encouraged the group to think about times when they may have made films or particular films they have enjoyed:

“I always used to make my own films when I lived in India. I would enjoy watching people and film their lives. I filmed people, traffic and animals. Everywhere I went I would take photos and videos…” - Mrs D.

“Some of the shots looked like places I know… For example Roundhay Park or Golden Acre Park…” – Mr S.

“I noticed there were no animals or people, just light, colours and shadows” – Mr V.

With such a great response from the group, we discussed the possibility of working together on a film, which would help to stimulate thoughts about the passage of time, the present moment and reflecting on times gone by. In 2018, we will continue our work with the South Asian Dementia Café group working with film and sharing life stories.

For more information on the Interwoven Histories project please contact:

Georgina Baker (Arts Worker – BME Dementia Service)

Touchstone Support Centre, 53-55 Harehills Avenue, Leeds, LS8 4EX

[email protected]

0113 219 2727

[geffryeyouth]

Forever Young!

Today we hear from our Youth Panel member Michael about what he got up to at the Geffrye’s Forever Young event as part of Silver Sunday and Celebrating age.

In the morning, I was in charge of object handling.  We had lots of people come to talk to us.  We had some radios, a tinder box and candlesticks. I also got some time to dance to the old songs. It was fun.

I helped people to come up and dance and have fun!

I learnt to communicate with older people and talk to them.

I really enjoyed talking to new people and telling people about my knowledge of the museum.

[interwovenhistories]

Hamari Yaadain group design flags for their roots, culture & identity

We are pleased to share that Carol Sorhaindo ran another fantastic community workshop with Touchstone’s Hamari Yaadain Dementia Café members. This time, Carol used the resilient buddleja plant as inspiration to think about our roots, migration and what gives us strength in difficult or uncertain times.

The buddleja plant, which is common in Britain and Asia is known for its ability to thrive and adapt to many different climates, and has unusually long, tough roots which support it to flourish. This stimulated discussion of what ‘feeds’ our roots. The group discussed their reasons for migrating to the UK initially, and shared stories about the things which helped them to settle here.

“When we came to the UK we made friends from all over the world, some from Sri Lanka and some from the West Indies...”

“We moved here for our children’s education… it was good in India but we moved here so our children could have a really good education…”

Carol also introduced the concept of flags as significant materials which represent who we are and where we are from. The group set about designing their own individual flags and included drawings of the things which had helped to keep them strong in difficult times.

The flags featured partners, families, children and homes. We discussed how family and friends play a huge part in our lives and help to make us feel strong. Some members of the group drew pictures of churches, temples and places of worship, and we discussed how religion and faith had been a powerful way to find strength and build a happy life here in Leeds. Some members of the group discussed how education had been a big part of why they moved to the UK and this was something which helped them to thrive in a new place.

We are very much looking forward to our next session, which will focus on film, sensory experience, culture, history and a discussion around these themes.

[interwovenhistories]

Hamari Yaadain group workshop with Carol Sorhaindo

Pavilion has partnered with community support organisation, Touchstone to deliver a year-long programme of art workshops for elderly people in BME communities.

 Last week Carol Sorhaindo ran our first session with Touchstone’s Hamari Yaadain (Our Memories) Dementia Café members. 

In the workshop, we painted with homemade saffron dye. It is well known that saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, and it has been grown and used in India in Punjab and Kashmir for over five thousand years. When used as a dye, saffron creates an incredible, bright yellow colour, which Carol had made for the group to experiment with. Carol also introduced some oak dye, which is known to be a symbol of British identity, and this encouraged the group to talk about their journeys of migration and the significance of their heritage combined with the experience of living in Britain.

The group created intricate designs using a block printing techniques. We discussed experiences of migration, memories of Britain and Leeds when they first came here, and the significant changes they could see in the world around us today. One member of the group recalled how his father had worked with block printing throughout his working life, and he shared happy memories with the group. Fond memories of old interior and textile designs were shared and some members of the group had brought with them pieces of clothing or textiles, which were significant to them and they shared these with the group.

It was clear to see how much the group enjoyed the chance to be together and explore something they might not otherwise have the opportunity to do. Below are a few quotes from the group about the session:

“It’s been great because I haven’t done anything like this since I was a child.” - Mr S.

“I feel very relaxed…it is good for me to focus on something else for a while.” - Mr C.

“I have really enjoyed myself… it hasn’t been ‘good’, it’s been great!” - Mrs K. 

After the session, we sat together to share a warm lunch, where discussion of life stories and fond memories continued to flow. Feedback was positive, and it was clear to see this new experience had meant a lot to people. Extensive research shows that art and creativity is beneficial for our mental health, so in this group where many of the members have dementia and difficulty with memory, this is a chance to really appreciate the present moment, to work on something meaningful, to practice old skills or develop new ones, and a chance share memories.

We are excited for our next workshop, when Carol will be joining us again to lead a session which will further explore nature, migration and our roots. It is hoped that over time the group will grow, and we encourage elders from different cultural backgrounds to get involved!