Funding of almost £160,000 has been awarded to 20 arts and community organisations delivering programmes benefiting older people in Northern Ireland.
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland funding is part of the Arts and Older People Programme, an initiative funded by The National Lottery and the Public Health Agency to tackle loneliness and promote positive mental health and wellbeing among older people.
Among the projects to benefit will be the BEAM Creative Network in Mid Ulster which is being awarded £7,184 for its Young at Heart programme which will run weekly over six months for 40 older people culminating in a showcase art exhibition of work in Donaghmore.
DU Dance, Ballycastle is being awarded £7,909 for its Alternative Energies programme, an inter-generational dance project which enables participants to take part in dance workshops and performances.
The Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast will receive £6,970 for its Our City of Stories initiative, a six-month project that creates a time and space for older people to reflect on how the city has evolved and changed.
Creative workshops will use reminiscence as a spark for participants to make art and provoke conversation.
The culmination of the project will be a celebratory showcase event where participants’ work is exhibited in the gallery.
The Streetwise Community Circus in Belfast will receive £9,000 for its Age-ility initiative in which people living in sheltered accommodation learn circus skills.
The Arts and Older People Programme has to date provided more than £2 million of funding to community organisations and voluntary groups across Northern Ireland in the delivery of more than 272 arts projects to older people since it was established in 2010.
Lorraine Calderwood, programmes officer at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said: “Research has proven that taking part in arts activities can boost health and wellbeing, raising self-esteem, confidence and motivation, as well as aid in relieving isolation and stress.
“The arts have a vital role to play in helping our older people find their voice, bring people together socially and promote positive physical and mental health.”