Wellbeing Case Study Banbury Project

About the project

The project began with community mapping and recruitment, resulting in a group of participants of older people, largely with visual impairments and mobility challenges. Detailed predictions on outputs and outcomes were not possible as the cohort was not predetermined.

Using place and community as a starting point, this project explored formal and informal local heritage, identified by the group as of common interest. Group members researched aspects of historical interest with input from local heritage experts and archives, visited heritage sites, shared experiences and undertook creative practice. Meetings took place at a local Arts Centre, museum and heritage assets. The physical barriers to access experienced by participants demanded a creative and iterative approach as well as a bespoke evaluation process.

The group identified stories and images to contribute to final project outputs. Ideas for which were co-created and included an audio-recording of a book on local heritage in Banbury (which had been illustrated by a participant’s mother); the construction of a tactile mosaic which represented Banbury; a legacy film with contributions from participants and AI digital postcards which represented stories of participants and their memories of Banbury. In addition, the project has produced a legacy resource archive which will help to form a ‘blueprint’ for other heritage practitioners to use via the Creative Later Life website. This includes including dedicated webpages, a series of podcasts on co-production, a recorded learning event on a radical approach to evaluation and an evaluation report.

Evaluation and results

Research by Age UK shows that older people themselves believe ‘creative and cultural participation’ to be the number one positive influence on their own wellbeing when ranked against other determinants. The results of this project showed how connection was a key to unlocking many doors to wellbeing; that it was a resource for coping with the past, present and future; that it created confidence and enabled valuable shared experiences and moments of discovery.