More News from ACAH Blog
10th anniversary awards and new beginnings
INTERNATIONAL ARTS AND HEALTH Conference convener Margret Meagher announced last week in Port Macquarie that the 10th anniversary conference would also be the last in the current format. “It’s time for me to move in a different direction,” she said, pointing to wanting to spend more time with her family, and her work for the […]
ACAH head heralded as ‘a beacon for our community’
Mayor Peta Pinson hailed Macquarie’s Margret Meagher as “a beacon for our community”. She was speaking at Port Macquarie Museum on Monday night at the welcome reception for the Annual Arts and Health Conference, which has returned to Port Macquarie to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Margret Meagher is the founder and force behind both the […]
November is Arts and Health Month: Indulge
THE ARTS ARE LIKE CHOCOLATE for the brain – a sweet treat it craves but, in this case, 100% good for it, according to US psychiatrist Gene Cohen. November is Arts and Health Month and that’s a great chance for us all to indulge in what makes our brain happy, and for those in the health […]
How poetic toads touched hearts and inspired the Hello Koalas Sculpture Trail
THE GREAT POWER of the arts is to tell our story back to us, so we can see and appreciate our achievements and struggles, and view ourselves afresh. It’s what inspired the residents of Yorkshire’s City of Hull, who were feeling rather neglected and forgotten, to engage with public art and, with other events, helped to […]
Festivals the path to better ageing
DOMINIC CAMPBELL, co-founder of Creative Aging International and a 2018 Influencer in Ageing, firmly believes we can create better ways of ageing. And he’s challenging participants at this year’s 10th International Arts and Health Conference to leave his workshop and lead their own creative ageing festival within 12 months. Always interested in aspects of equality, […]
How Ned Kelly is helping London stroke patients
ROSE SAWKINS IS one of very few actors who see their audience falling asleep as a compliment. An actor-reader for over 12 years at London’s world-renowned National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Rose uses reading as a vehicle to reach people who have had a stroke, as part of InterAct Stroke Support’s service. For her, […]
And the winners are ….
Ita Buttrose and Bianca Balzer won Gold at the MACA Media Awards for their Today Extra segment, representing active ageing in a positive light. The Healthy Lifestyle Tips piece highlighted the importance of Seniors making physical exercise a priority, and was recognised by the NSW Ministerial Advisory Committee on Ageing (MACA). “So many people think […]
Poetry makes a connection for people with dementia
INTERVIEWING GARY GLAZNER, founder of the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project and one of a stellar line-up of international keynote speakers for this November’s 10thanniversary International Arts and Health Conference, is full of surprises. You are never quite sure when he will burst into poetry, song, bring out his harmonica or require you to do a “call […]
‘Playfulness’ changes the quality of life for people living with dementia and their carers
In Conversation with … Professor Michael Balfour Inaugural Chair in Applied Theatre in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences at Griffith University How can a couple of comic entertainers give a dementia patient back a feeling of empowerment and positively change relationships with both their families and carers? That is the background of […]