Distanced Arts: Investigating the design, delivery, and impacts of Entelechy Arts' Staying Connected Programme
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: Sch of Biological & Behavioural Sciences
Abstract
On-going concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic (severe illness, changing distancing restrictions, second-wave of pandemic) present an increased risk for social isolation (reduced contact friends and/or family; loss of relationships, exclusion from society), which can have a disproportionately negative impact on health and well-being particularly among older adults. Given the uncertainty around the course of the pandemic, remote solutions that help older adults to stay connected are needed. In collaboration with Entelechy Arts, this project will consider one such solution, a distanced arts intervention - Staying Connected - from the perspective of service providers and users. Across two work packages (WP) we will use semi-structured interviews to understand service providers' (staff, artists, volunteers) experiences of distanced arts design and delivery (n=15; WP1), and conduct a longitudinal quantitative survey (2 time-points over 6 months) assessing whether there are changes in participants' isolation, health, and well-being as a results of taking part in Staying Connected's programmes (remote radio show (n=30), creative activity boxes (n=30), choir (n=16), and other activity clusters (knitting, poetry; n=10); WP2). Deliverables and outputs include a practice report outlining guidelines and recommendations for service providers who seek to design and deliver distanced arts, a virtual workshop to share the learning about practice with relevant stakeholders (arts organisations, councils, community members, government), an impact report detailing the effects of Staying Connected programme's on older adults' isolation, health and well-being, a virtual dissemination event to share the impact findings with relevant stakeholders, and two manuscripts for publication in high-impact academic journals.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Janelle Jones (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
| Description | The findings of the practice report (WP1) highlighted four considerations in the design and delivery of remote creative programmes for the arts sector in general around 1) Accessibility, 2) Active engagement, 3) Flexibility and Feedback, and 4) Addressing Wear and Tear. We have made a recommendation for what can be done to address these issues within arts practices Consideration 1: Using videocall software alone to deliver remote creative programmes may be a barrier to attendance for many people in the community. Recommendation 1: Different formats should be considered and tested to find the best solution for each organisation. Although some older adults will have access to videocall software, this access should not be assumed. Organisations may want to consider what can be done to maximise the number of programme participants and to accommodate the specific access needs of their programme participants. Hybrid models of delivery - with a mix of phone calls and videocalls - may be a useful way to maximise accessibility, and thereby attendance. Consideration 2: Before people can actively engage with creative activities, they need to feel comfortable in the remote setting and acknowledged within the group. Recommendation 2: Specific strategies to promote active engagement are needed in remote contexts. Individual check-ins (before and at the beginning of activities) and warm-up exercises can be used to make people feel more comfortable in remote environments. Vibrant activities can be used to generate conversation and ideas. To make creative activities more accessible people should be encouraged to experiment with ideas and materials, and all contributions to the co-creating process should be acknowledged. Consideration 3: Participant perspectives can be leveraged to improve the design and delivery of remote programmes. Recommendation 3: Seeking feedback is a useful way to engage users. Different feedback formats (e.g., anonymous, one to one, or group) can be used to help participants to communicate in way(s) that are most comfortable for them. Specific feedback from participants can be used to adapt the programme to meet the needs and preferences of the specific users. Consideration 4: Remote delivery can be more isolating than in-person delivery; Members required to stay at home may become more vulnerable leading to increased emotional reliance on practitioners. Recommendation 4: Dedicated staff to support the health and wellbeing of practitioners could be introduced to ensure that practitioners do not become overwhelmed and are suitably equipped to deal with the demands of providing emotional support. The findings of our impact report highlighted that both the creative and social components of arts programmes should be addressed to facilitate participant engagement and to positively impact their well-being. Three key considerations for arts organisations (and the wider arts sector) to promote these benefits may include 1) ensuring programme variety, 2) cultivating group memberships, and 3) allowing time. Consideration 1: Variety may indeed be the spice of life. Rather, than trying to identify the one type of arts activity or mode of delivery that promotes interest, engagement, and well-being, it may be that choice in what one does, and how one does it, is the key for unlocking the benefits of arts activities for all individuals. Recommendation 1: Where possible, a diverse collection of creative activities should be offered in different ways by arts programmes to allow for the agency that can promote beneficial outcomes. Where this is difficult for an individual arts organisation to realise, it might be possible to join together with other organisations within a given area to develop Creative Community Clusters so that resources and the individual programme strengths may be pooled to allow clients to access the benefits of variety (activities, ways of working) within their local communities to maximise their positive outcomes. Consideration 2: Group interactions may be a useful way to leverage additional benefits for individuals involved in arts activities. Embedding sharing and discussion in artistic practice may enhance connection and promote several individual benefits. Recommendation 2: Where possible deliver activities in groups to bolster feelings of connection and identification to promote engagement and well-being. Groups can be strengthened informally by allowing regular opportunities for interaction over time or formally by using interventions such as Groups4Health (Haslam et al., 2016) in the design phases of programmes to maximise the benefits of group memberships. Consideration 3: Time to allow the sustained development of programmes and to assess programmes is necessary for uncovering what works in arts interventions. Recommendation 3: Consistent and sustained funding for arts organisations that enables long-term delivery of programmes rather than short-term or one-off programs is needed. Robust longitudinal evaluation is also needed to gain a complete picture the success and challenges of arts interventions. |
| Exploitation Route | The considerations and recommendations from our practice and impact reports can be used by practitioners and community organisations in the design and delivery of their own remote programmes. This is applicable not only to the arts and creative programmes but also other types of community/social programmes that focus on social/group-based activities. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Healthcare,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Description | UKRI Research England - Participatory Research Funding |
| Amount | £1,080 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Queen Mary University of London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2022 |
| End | 07/2022 |
| Title | Anonymised Focus Group Transcripts |
| Description | Anonymised Focus Group Transcripts |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | None |
| URL | https://osf.io/q8wcf/?view_only=d8a85301ea974a44be923503c11f294b |
| Title | Anonymised Interview Transcripts |
| Description | Anonymised Transcripts Interviews with Artists, Staff and Volunteers involved in Entelechy Arts' Staying Connected Programme. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | No impacts as of yet. |
| URL | https://osf.io/j2psx/ |
| Title | Longitudinal dataset |
| Description | The wide and long formats of the data used in the longitudinal analysis that was reported in the impact report |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | None |
| URL | https://osf.io/rquty/?view_only=e64130ee8f954eb5939edccee6278ee1 |
| Description | Coverage in a professional magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The project was featured in Arts Professional and highlighted that programme variety was important. it also mentioned that we had 3 recommendations for other arts organisations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/arts-programmes-should-offer-range-creative-activities |
| Description | Coverage in professional magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The project was featured in Arts Professional and touted as a blueprint for remote arts with older adults. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/project-blueprint-remote-arts-older-people |
| Description | Impact Workshop (Online) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | With Entelechy Arts, we held a impact workshop to launch and disseminate the findings from our impact report, Identifying the art of well-being: The experiences and impacts of of Entelechy Arts' Staying Connected programme. Dr Virginia Tandy, OBE, from the Creative Ageing Development Agency, chaired this workshop (https://www.mmfromhome.com/cada). Approximately 30 people attended - a mix of individuals from community organisations, academics, artists/practitioners, local authority/government, and other. This was a sharing event where the findings from the report were presented and interspersed with our excerpt from the Pandemic and Beyond video, an extract from Meet Me on the Radio, and everyone was given the opportunity to engaging in a paper etching (materials were mailed out to attendees in advance). We used mentimeter to poll attendees before the impact workshop (n=17 responded) to ask why they attended and after the impact workshop (n=9 responded) to assess any changes/learnings. Alongside open ended questions, there were some questions that were rated from 1= Strongly Disagree and 5=Strongly Agree. Before the event, attendees generally agreed that they had experience in working to promote mental health/well-being (4/5), working to promote social connections/reduce isolation (3.9/5), working with older adults (3.8/5), delivering arts programs 3.8/5), designing arts programs 3.6). Respondents attended primarily because they were interested in learning about our findings. After the event, in addition to agreeing that the event was interesting (average rating 4.2/5), enjoyable, and engaging (average ratings 4/5 for both), respondents agreed that "The event led me to reflect on my own work in new ways" (average rating 3.8/5). Respondents tended to be neutral in their ratings of having learned new things about remote arts programmes (3.4/5), creative engagement (3.4/5), social connections 3.6/5), older adults (3.3/5) and mental health and/or well-being (3.4/5). When asked "How will the lessons from today's event inform your work either now or in the future?", respondents primarily said they would try to implement remote offerings in their own work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://entelechyarts.org/projects/discoveries-in-distanced-arts/ |
| Description | Practice Workshop (Online) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | With Entelechy Arts, we held a practice workshop to launch and disseminate the findings from our practice report, Discoveries in Distanced Arts: The work, wonder, and wear of Entelechy Arts' Staying Connected Programme. Approximately 40 people attended - a mix of artists/practitioners, arts organisations, academics, PhD students, and individuals involved in health and social care. The event was a series of talks that presented considerations and recommendations for arts organisations from our UKRI-AHRC funded project. The workshop can be viewed online by following the URL below. We used mentimeter to poll attendees before the practice workshop (n=30 responded) to ask why they attended and after the practice workshop (n=14 responded) to assess impact. Alongside open ended questions, there were some questions that were rated from 1= Strongly Disagree and 5=Strongly Agree. Respondents attended primarily because they were interested in learning more about designing and delivering remote arts programmes. Before the event, respondents disagreed that they had experience in designing and delivery remote creative programmes (average ratings 2.7/5 and 2.8/5 respectively), revising their existing programmes for remote delivery (average rating 2.4/5), or in addressing staff well-being in remote programmes (average rating 2/5). After the event, in addition to strongly agreeing that the event was interesting (average rating 4.6/5), enjoyable, and engaging (average ratings 4.4/5 for both), respondents strongly agreed that "The event led me to reflect on my own work in new ways" (average rating 4.6/5). Respondents agreed that they learned new things about remote programme design, delivery, and how to address staff well-being (average ratings 3.8/5 for all). And when asked "How will the lessons from today's event inform your work either now or in the future?", respondents primarily said they would try to integrate what they had learned into their own practices. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://entelechyarts.org/projects/discoveries-in-distanced-arts/ |
| Description | Press Release (QMUL) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | QMUL developed a press release for the first phase of the project. This was also publicised by Entelechy Arts. This may have contributed to the interview request by Arts Professional. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2021/se/entelechy-arts-and-queen-mary-university-of-london-launch-... |
| Description | Research Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 25 individuals (academics, pg students) attended an invited hybrid talk that was delivered at the Department of Psychology at University College London on The Art of Well-being: The experience and impacts of group arts interventions for older adults. This talk sparked questions and discussions after. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I gave a flash talk on this work at the 5th International Conference on Social Identity and Health in Nottingham, UK. Academics and PG students from Australia, Europe, and the United Kingdom presented their research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://icsih.com |
| Description | Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | As part of the Pandemic and Beyond impact activities, I was invited to take part in a virtual event with the National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH). This policy/impact event aimed to showcase key findings from the Arts and Health cluster from the Pandemic and Beyond portfolio, to engage policy and decision makers and to maximise impact of key findings from the cluster. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://ncch.org.uk/news/the-pandemic-and-beyond-the-future-of-creative-health |
| Description | Video Contribution |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I contributed to a documentary about the Pandemic & Beyond projects funded by the UKRI-AHRC. I discussed the project and some thoughts about the arts in general. The film was released in 2022 on Youtube. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOUsZnChrvk |