Residents at The Cedars Try Their Hands At Miniature Painting

Staff and residents at Barchester’s The Cedars Care Home in Bourne were treated to a live talk entitled ‘Natural Pigments Inspired by South Asian Miniature Painting’ hosted by Holly Power and Rafin Jannat from the V&A South Kensington.

In celebration of National Art in Care Homes Day, residents joined Holly from the V&A Learning team and designer-artist Rafin Jannat for a live make-along. They learned about the stunning work of artists, designers and craftspeople that feature in the South Asia Gallery at the V&A South Kensington. Residents were inspired to create their own works on paper using pigments and paints made from everyday ingredients such as tea and coffee. Joy said that she had never tried painting like this before- and it was so much fun! whilst Ann and her daughter said how wonderfully relaxing the event was.

Holly said: “It was wonderful to be able to share some of the many treasures from the South Asia Gallery with the staff and residents from Barchester and talk about the history of some of the pieces we have in the collection at V&A South Kensington. The techniques we tried together are centuries old and it is fantastic to be able to showcase the beautiful effects that can be achieved with the simplest of materials.”

Sally Turton, Head of Resident Experience for Barchester Healthcare, commented: “We are excited to work with wonderful partners like the V&A to bring a wide range of different experiences into our homes for all to enjoy. We’re so grateful to Rafin and Holly for sharing their expert knowledge with us.”

“Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities,” Sally added.

Senior General Manager Rebecca Aldred said: “Our talk from the V&A today was so interesting, we would never have thought about painting with every day things such as tea and coffee! Our residents loved trying their hand at the miniature paintings and hearing about the history behind the designs Holly and Rafin showed us.”

The Cedars Care Home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. The Cedars Care Home provides residential care, nursing care and palliative care for 56 residents from respite care to long term stays.

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