Chichester care home resident reconnects with lifelong passion

A resident at a care home in Chichester has rekindled his love for art with a surprise trip to a gallery. 

When the team at Care UK’s Chichester Grange, on Grosvenor Road in Donnington, heard that Anthony ‘Tony’ Day was keen to revisit his passion for paintings, they set to work making his wish come true.

 

They arranged a surprise trip to Watts Gallery in Guildford, where Tony explored the paintings and sculptures of George Frederic Watts. 

Watts was well known for his powerful works and portraits and gained the name of ‘England’s Michelangelo’.

Tony particularly enjoyed the Watts Cemetery Chapel, created by George’s remarkable wife Mary, who invited the community to help her decorate the inside. His favourite part of the day was seeing Watts’ artwork and the paintings, which he recalled as being as “incredible” as he remembered. 

Reflecting on his visit, Tony said: “I’ve loved art ever since my dad drew a picture of me when I was two – it just stuck with me. Painting’s always been something I enjoy, and being at Chichester Grange has really brought that love back to life.” 

Tony’s passion for art came from his father, Phillip, who used to paint and draw throughout Tony’s childhood. Inspired, Tony left school at 16 to study architecture at college. 

Throughout his career as an Architectural technologist, Tony has worked on hospitals in Algeria and buildings in France, the Netherlands, and South East Asia. However, he has always returned to his love of art and continues to create contemporary art at Chichester Grange. 

The special visit was part of the care home’s Wishing Tree initiative, which encourages residents to put their dreams forward and allow them to reconnect with a past career or hobby or try something completely new.

Nikki Burke, Home Manager at Chichester Grange, said: “It was fantastic to see Tony in his element on the visit and draw on his expertise to explain certain techniques other artists have used at the gallery. 

“It’s incredibly important to us that residents live independent and rewarding lives and have opportunities to reconnect with their past experiences and passions, either through activities at Chichester Grange or planned days out. 

“We would like to thank the team at Watts Gallery for helping make Tony’s wish come true – he hasn’t stopped talking about it since we returned home!”

Designed to enable residents to live active and fulfilling lives, while also promoting independence, Chichester Grange offers residential, nursing and specialist dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. The home incorporates plenty of space for leisure activities and hobbies, with luxury facilities including a cinema, hair and beauty salon, pub and stunning gardens. It achieved ‘care home design of the year’ at the Leaders in Care Awards 2022.