Stansted care home residents welcome local nursery school for world’s largest drawing festival

A care home in Stansted welcomed a local nursery to take part in the world’s largest drawing festival.

Residents at Care UK’s Mountfitchet House, on Coltsfield, were joined by children from Blossom Barn Nursery to put their best pencils forward for The Big Draw Festival 2023.

Launched in 2000 as part of the ‘Campaign for Drawing’, the month-long Big Draw Festival promotes drawing as a tool for learning and invention, and has encouraged over four million people to get arty since its inception. This year’s theme, ‘Drawing with the Senses’, encourages artists involved to focus on how the five basic senses, touch, sight, sound, taste and smell, impact an individual's perception of the world around them. 

As part of the event, residents and the children from Blossom Barn Nursery created autumn-themed works of art focusing on the senses, using 3D materials such as leaves, apples, feathers and petals to create a sensory element to their drawings.

91-year-old resident, Ann, said: “Seeing the children’s smiles always makes my day! We had lots of fun creating an autumn themed landscape – and made a lot of mess with the different materials!”

Joanna Duke, Home Manager at Mountfitchet House, said: “It was fantastic to take part in the Big Draw this year – and especially to be joined by Blossom Barn Nursery.

“Intergenerational activity is a great way for older people to form new relationships and boost their sense of purpose, providing an opportunity to share stories from their own youth and the knowledge they have gained over the years. The Big Draw encouraged residents and the children to explore their senses, helping them to learn more about themselves and each other while producing some fantastic artwork I’m sure everyone will treasure for a long time.

“We certainly have some budding artists here at Mountfitchet House and over at Blossom Barn Nursery and we’re looking forward to continuing to develop these skills together!”

Mountfitchet House is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, nursing, dementia and short-term respite care. The care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities and includes its own cinema, hair salon and café.