What Next? Arts and Ageing Resources

What Next? is a programme about arts and ageing. It consists of an eight-part podcast series, three online workshops, and an e-publication involving the Cork City and County organisations Cork Midsummer Festival, MusicAlive, and SIRIUS as well as the artists Marie Brett, Helga Deasy and Susan McManamon, and Colette Lewis. These resources provide a toolkit for those working with older people, whether artists, programmers, or policy makers. What Next? is initiated by Cork City Council and managed by SIRIUS.

The podcast series, produced by the journalist Ellie O’Byrne, tells the story of four artists and members of the community with whom they collaborated in exploring questions around the relevance of local know-how, traditions of lore, and agency through co-creation. The online workshops focus on planning programming in relation to older people, and are delivered by representatives of the organisations with the facilitation of Ellie O’Byrne and SIRIUS director Miguel Amado. The e-publication, edited by Miguel Amado, includes a summary of learnings, findings, and recommendations, with contributions by the artists, Ellie O’Byrne, and the critic Joanne Laws.

What Next? is an outcome of Creative Enquiry – Arts and Older People, a project initiated by Cork City Council that explored new approaches to arts engagement with older people in 2019. The project consisted of three residencies involving the same artists and organiations: Marie Brett with Cork Midsummer Festival, Helga Deasy and Susan McManamon with MusicAlive, and Colette Lewis with SIRIUS.

“What next?” is a question posed by consultant Terre Duffy in the publication that accompanies Creative Enquiry – Arts and Older People. “This was not the first ambitious project with a solid oversight partnership, curious host organisations, and skilled and experienced artists, utilising a tried and tested person-centred collaborative model for engagement with older people,” notes Duffy. “However, what this creative enquiry has demonstrated yet again is the value of engagement with the arts for older people. Unless there is commitment to deliver on the recommendations and learnings, there is a risk of this becoming another great case study for another great creative enquiry in a few more years.” What Next? answers this call and provides practical outcomes that go beyond presenting case studies. 

What Next? Arts and Ageing Resources and Creative Enquiry – Arts and Older People were initiated by Cork City Council and funded by The Arts Council Invitation to Collaboration Scheme with the support of Age & Opportunity, Cork County Council, and the Health Service Executive.