beyond this bright gold frame
poetry from Creative Cafés engraved on the lid of the boxes
distant trees draw light
breathing in such rich patterns
how we paint our voices
Artbox is an activity box, game and ‘miniature museum’ that draws on the sessions in the Creative Cafés and inspired by the 550 year old painting, St Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child by Dieric Bouts.
The project was developed as part of my engagement with Bristol Museum 2017-2020.
There are four boxes. They are designed to be sensory, tactile, interactive, playful and accessible. The ArtBox enables a small part of the museum to be taken out to those in care homes and hospital wards.
The design process was very much a collaborative one, involving dementia specialists, museum curators, designers and artists.
The creative team who designed and made ArtBox (Chris Ingram, Lisa Cole, Caleb Parkin, Kate Uzzell and Ailsa Richardson) are incredibly proud of the finished boxes. It provides opportunities for creative interaction, play and conversation for people living with dementia, their carers and families.
ArtBox was launched in September at an event for dementia providers, partners and internal museum staff.
There were representatives from Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, Home Instead Domiciliary Care, Bristol University Hospitals NHS Trust, Alive Activities, Knowle West Media Centre, Bristol Health Partners, Bristol Museum Development Trust, National Museum of Wales and Norfolk Museums..
We ran sessions for staff and facilitators from the charity Alive and staff at Bristol University Hospitals NHS Trust to introduce them to ArtBox. The activity boxes will be offered for use through the hospital and the charity.
Read more in my Bristol Museum blog
