Good Times: Art for Older People at Dulwich Picture Gallery

I Feel Like a Princess

A short film ‘I Feel Like a Princess’ by artist Ruth Dupré encapsulates the experience of this special partnership with St Christopher’s Hospice as part of the Good Times: Art for Older People at Dulwich Picture Gallery programme.
Photographs capture a moment in time, but they also capture the essence of individual personality which is then left with us long after the subject has gone.
The exhibition gave a moving and sometimes humorous glimpse into the diverse world of St Christopher’s Hospice over a short period of time. Many of the photographs were given to family members of patients as a lasting memento

‘Prescription for Art’ - BBC News Feature
Dulwich Picture Gallery has teamed up with local doctors’ surgeries to reach out to older people that other institutions have passed by. Doctors and nurses with special responsibilities for older people refer patients they feel are at most risk of isolation to creative workshops in the Sackler Studio and tours in the Gallery.

Several years of experience have shown that the stimulus art delivers is a real tonic. Participants begin to feel more confident and positive, concentrate better, and forget their aches and pains.

Previously neglected participants learn new skills in sympathetic and stimulating surroundings, make friends, and start to feel part of a community.

“You forget the pain.” Good Times Participant

‘Words and Stitches’
Good Times: Art for Older People at Dulwich Picture Gallery, is a pioneering programme especially for isolated older people. ‘Words and Stitches’ was a partnership project with Dulwich Library. An artist from the Gallery and a storyteller from the Library worked together with the older participants through a process of reinterpreting the Gallery Collection through their own personal stories. The group then stitched these precious memories into a quilt.