Well crafted: a sustainable model for participatory craft-based activities at the living museum; improving wellbeing for people living with dementia

Abstract

This practice-based research explores the role of participatory handcrafting as a strategy for promoting wellbeing for people living with early-stage dementia, addressing the difficulty of maintaining meaningful roles in the community after diagnosis. The three main themes were: People; to identify the needs and challenges in designing participatory engagement workshops for a specific group of participants, Place; to understand the unique opportunities and experiences of working in an immersive heritage environment, and Practice; to use design methods to develop a new sustainable service. The research took place in a historically immersive environment at Beamish Open-Air Museum, the immersive characteristic of the setting was a significant actor in the narrative of the research, directly informing the activities and methods employed. Drawing on existing literature combined with firsthand observations to understand the value of a new intervention at the unique setting. The study employed participatory craft workshops combining design research with hands-on making, by engaging key stakeholders to develop new ways for museums to support local communities. A social enterprise workshop model was tested, making handmade products to sell in the museum gift shop that challenged the assumption that a diagnosis of dementia is a barrier to participation and learning new and valued skills. Whilst craft and reminiscence activities have been a long-standing part of the wellbeing offer at Beamish for people living with dementia, this has been a different kind of engagement where people helped build a community of makers and became owners of the initiative alongside the design researcher. The commercialisation of the handmade products promoted a sense of independence, increased self confidence and contributed financially to the sustainability of the activity. Beyond this, the research demonstrated the importance of design/craft practitioners and their unique contribution to museum activity and recognised that heritage organisations are well positioned to find new ways to support local artisans.

Date of Award	30 Nov 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Northumbria University
Supervisor	Justin Marshall (Supervisor) & Jayne Wallace (Supervisor)