The Beaney:
therapeutic benefits of culture for all ages

This case study looks at how they redesigned their Health and Wellbeing programme during lockdown to ensure that vulnerable and shielding older adults were still able to access creative cultural activities from home.

The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge is a therapeutic museum and inclusive community space in the heart of Canterbury. As the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance South East Museums Champion, The Beaney places a strong focus on exploring how cultural organisations can have a positive impact on people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing.

The Beaney focuses on inclusion and has been designed to be enjoyed by people of all ages. Accessibility is built in to the visitor experience, located in the city centre we have a disabled car park at the rear of the building. The main entrance features large automatic doors, ‘easy going’ steps and platform lift leading to a welcoming split level information desk, where visitors are greeted by trained staff who are ready to help our guests navigate our inspirational collection.

Comfort and communication is key to our visitor experience, from our dementia friendly and makaton trained staff to our portable seating, braille museum guides, signage and maps, we want guests to experience the museum in a way that suits them.

The Beaney runs a programme of groups and events, specifically designed to improve the health and wellbeing of visitors. Our programme considers the needs and barriers experienced by older visitors, encourages intergenerational relationships, and celebrates the diversity of interests and abilities amongst older audiences.

Our monthly Power of the Object Group offers those living with dementia and social isolation the opportunity to get close to the museum’s collections through object handling, whilst socialising with others. Additionally, our drop-in Sounds Beaney sessions provide a welcoming space where our older visitors can explore the positive effects that singing can have on mental and physical well being, including speech difficulties such as Parkinson’s.

Our artist-led Sensing Culture! workshops encourage visually impaired adults to engage in object handling, tactile tours, and creating artwork inspired by our collections. The sessions promote interaction between generations, as well as encouraging artistic work that celebrates life with visual impairments, and for some, life in older age.

As the South East Champion for the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance we contribute to the national evidence base by evaluating the impact of our groups and events, to ensure that the groups are relevant to the participants and build a picture of the impact that the groups has on health and wellbeing.

Participants’ well being is measured every 4 months using the Warwick and Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS). Participants in our Sensing Culture and The Power of the Object workshops have agreed to take part in our formal evaluation over 2 years and have demonstrated an improvement in general wellbeing of 24%.

Results from The Power of the Object Group indicated that scores of wellbeing stayed the same over the course of two years, which is against the national trend where research indicates that people with a diagnosis of dementia and their carers report significantly reduced levels of wellbeing after a diagnosis. Demonstrating the importance of the arts as a tool for helping people manage their wellbeing, while living with a degenerative condition.

March 2020 saw the museum close due to Covid-19. As the team moved to working from home, The Beaney remained committed to engaging with older audiences, including our regular groups which are attended by people who are vulnerable due to their conditions, many of whom were shielding as per government guidelines.

A participant centred approach was developed with facilitators which reflected the needs of individuals in the groups. Some participants from The Power of the Object joined a new online platform, where they were invited to take part in creative activities and submit work based on photos of the museum’s collections. Others who were unable to participate online, due to the nature of their conditions or lack of internet access, were supported by telephone calls. Those who did not have access to art materials were delivered supplies by group facilitators. Participants from Sensing Culture and The Power of the Object used this support to produce artworks which will be exhibited in our Special Exhibitions Gallery as part of our upcoming “Museum of You” exhibition. We also developed links with other service providers at Canterbury City Council, including refugee support groups and services for young people. We will be building on these working relationships going forwards and look at ways to integrate intergenerational opportunities at the museum as part of our ongoing commitment to health and wellbeing.

As restrictions lift, but social distancing stays in place, we are now working across physical and digital spaces to ensure that anyone can enjoy the therapeutic benefits of culture. The Beaney has been designed to be enjoyed by everybody, from our physical spaces to our innovative programme. We will be taking this learning forward to continue using our unique building and inspiring collections to create a ‘tonic’ to enhance all of our visitors’ experience.