Down to a fine art – Local children join Poole care home for the world’s largest drawing festival

Home news

Nov 07, 2019

8004-CWF7166-Key facts sheets-2pp A4-core-Davers Court.pdfResidents at a care home in Poole picked up their pencils and welcomed the Broadstone Scouts group for The Big Draw Festival 2019.

Care UK’s The Potteries, on York Road, joined in the celebrations by creating works of art based around this year’s theme, ‘drawn to life’.

The residents and children created a large drawing centred around the outside of the care home. Each child and resident took a section to draw, creating an artistic masterpiece that included all the wildlife seen in the home’s surrounding area.

Launched in 2000 as part of the ‘Campaign for Drawing’, The Big Draw promotes drawing as a tool for learning, expression and invention, and has encouraged over four million people to get arty since its inception. This year’s theme celebrates the benefits of creative activities, especially drawing, on health and wellbeing. 2019 also marks the bicentenary of John Ruskin’s birth, founder of the Guild of St George, the charitable education trust behind the initiative.

Zita Turner, home manager at The Potteries, said: “Many residents at The Potteries have a keen interest in creative activities, so The Big Draw Festival provided a fantastic opportunity to showcase these skills.

“Drawing has many benefits for residents, especially those living with dementia, as it offers an alternative way to communicate and a chance to relive happy memories.

“It was great to see residents and the youngsters of the Broadstone Scouts group work together to create some beautiful pieces of art. We certainly have some budding artists in the making!”

The Potteries is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own cinema and hair salon, and there is plenty of space, both indoors and out, for relaxation and recreation. The home has a comprehensive activity programme, offering a mix of themed events, group activities and days out.

Recognising the importance of artistic activities, Care UK was happy to become one of the lead sponsors for The Big Draw this year alongside organisations such as The Courtauld Institute of Art and the City of Toronto Museum. You can read more about Care UK’s national involvement here: thebigdraw.org/drawn-to-life-care-uk

For more information, please contact customer relations manager, Rachel Wood, at rachel.wood@careuk.com, or phone 01202 069 835.

For more general information about The Potteries, please visit: careuk.com/the-potteries

To find out more about the Big Draw festival, please go to thebigdraw.org