As part of Dementia Action Week, Beamish Museum hosted a programme of inclusive activities designed to raise awareness of dementia, support people living with dementia and celebrate dementia-friendly communities.
The week included social, creative and heritage-based activities alongside opportunities for visitors to learn more about dementia support services and community resources. The events were designed to be welcoming, accessible and enjoyable for people living with dementia, carers, families and the wider public.
Dementia Action Week reflects Beamish Museum’s wider commitment to supporting people living with dementia, long-term health conditions and social isolation through creative, social and heritage-based activity delivered from Clover Cottage and across the museum site.
The work supports:
The Dementia Action Week programme helped:
Clay Connections was a co-creative research project exploring how pottery, craft and shared making can support wellbeing, confidence and social connection.
The Folk Art Pilot explored less widely practised heritage skills and creative techniques, including glass art, silk painting, body ware and other traditional craft forms that are not always widely available or easily accessible in community settings.
Our South Shields was a creative heritage and wellbeing project exploring the everyday histories, migration stories and cultural identity of South Shields communities — particularly South Asian and other global majority communities whose stories are often underrepresented in heritage spaces.