Projects
Celebrating Age – Elder Tree
Empowering Older People Through WritingThe Elder Tree project was our three-year, region-wide residency programme, empowering groups of older people across the East Midlands to create new work stimulated by museums, archives, heritage spaces and professional writers.
This region-wide project, which included story-telling, reminiscence writing, poetry, group reading and role-play, and embodied an ethos of celebration and fun, also celebrated the wealth of experience, knowledge and talent older people bring to communities, especially in the former coalfield areas of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, rural parts of Lincolnshire, former steelwork centre Corby and inner-city areas in Leicester.
Led by Writing East Midlands, the project was delivered by a consortium including Creative People and Places projects First Art and Made in Corby, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, and Museum Development East Midlands, working with non-arts focused organisations Age UK, Orders of St John Care Trust and University of the Third Age.
As part of WEM’s wider interest in evidencing how literature can make social change, The Elder Tree, evaluated ‘how participating in creative writing activity affects feelings of social isolation and wellbeing in older people’ and informed our, and our partner’s, future work.
Impact
We have taken time to look at the impact of this amazing project. Some of it expressed in words, and some in numbers.
246 participants took part in Celebrating Age across 12 residencies, all over the East Midlands. 90% of participants said that they enjoyed the sessions. 88% of the people said that doing the activity with other people helped them to feel more connected.
"Well for one thing it gets you out of yourself. You haven’t got to just sit in your room cogitating and thinking about what’s going to be done the next day."
Celebrating Age - Elder Tree
Completed Residencies
You can read about the completed residencies by clicking on the titles below. The list will grow throughout the life of the project.
Attenborough Arts Centre – Leicester
Participants produced a collection of tales, stories and memories, called I Remember: Leicester.
Gregory House – Grantham
Participants produced a collection of tales, rhymes and advice, called Go and Mek Your Own Sausages.
The Bennion
and Evington
Centres–Leicester
Participants produced a series of art posters using their poetry, to inspire future patients and visitors.
Seagrave House – Corby
Participants produced a collection of art postcards commemorating the writing and memories of the residents.
Glenmoor House Care Home – Corby
Participants produced a sound piece, poems were recorded by professional actors and poets and set to music.
Sandalwood Care Home – Corby
Participants produced a showcase of their poetry performed for them by the writers and professional poets.
Zoom with a Brew
Participants worked towards producing a collection of poems and prose, as well as a series of Talking Heads films, which were showcased online via a special website
Connections
Participants worked towards producing a collection of writing and poetry, which has been published here as an e-book anthology.
Wish You Were Here
Participants produced a paperback anthology of prose, which was launched at Waterstones in September 2021, and a series of banners displayed across Boston.
Relax, Recall, Write!
Over the course of the project, participants were encouraged to use reminiscence activities to collaborate on an e-book anthology memoir, which can be read here.
Tonic Health - Spalding
Working with the team at Tonic Health in Spalding to support their Dementia and Mental Health community groups with writing activities which became 3 booklets.
Celebrating Age - Elder Tree
Lead and Shadow Writers
We were proud to welcome such an amazing array of talented writers to the Elder Tree project.
Below is a list of our lead and shadow writers, who worked with older people throughout the region, empowering and inspiring them to use their voice and create new work.
Andy Barrett
Lead Writer, NE Derbyshire
Andy Barrett has written over fifty plays for radio and stage, including Dolly, a cloning meets country and western musical, which the Times selected as one of their top five shows of 2010; and Skybus which took place on board a bus to East Midlands Airport and back. His theatre company Excavate has worked with thousands of local people to produce plays about their histories, culture, stories and identity. Tony’s Last Tape, based on the Benn diaries, is about to have its fifth production and he is currently working on a community play for a slum in Pune, India.
Azma Dar
Shadow Writer, Corby
Azma has written for theatre, radio and screen, and her novel The Secret Arts has been published as an e-book by Dean Street Press. A chapter from this won the New Ventures Writing Award, and her play Vampire in Bradford won the New Perspective Long Play Competition. She has also worked on several community projects. She is currently working on a new novel and a new play, Noor, based on the true story of a female wireless operator, set during WW2. She has also received a DYCP Arts Council Award to write a novel for children.
Bea Udeh
Shadow Writer, Leicester
Bea Udeh has worked in the arts and cultural sector for almost 20 years. Her areas of expertise include creativity, audience development and cultural diversity. She has held varied roles nationally including artist, independent arts consultant, producer, project manager and motivational speaker. Bea work has been published in poetry books and arts and culture review magazines. As a creative workshop practitioner, her practice includes evaluating projects for her clients or designing workshops on writing, confidence building and mentoring.
Cathy Grindrod
Lead Writer, NE Derbyshire
Cathy Grindrod is an award-winning writer of poetry, plays and memoir, and a former Derbyshire Poet Laureate. She was awarded an honorary degree by Derby University in 2014 for her work improving mental health through writing across Derbyshire communities. She is an experienced facilitator, mentor and trainer, who specialises in Writing for Wellbeing and has worked on many community writing projects. She leads two writing courses for those aged 55+ at Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham.
François Matarasso
Lead Writer, Leicester – Attenborough Arts
François Matarasso is a community artist, writer and researcher, whose work has been widely published and translated. He has served as trustee of NESTA, Arts Council England and the Baring Foundation and held honorary professorships in the UK and Australia. Between 2011 and 2015 he produced a series of short books on undervalued areas of cultural life, under the collective title Regular Marvels. His latest book A Restless Art, How participation won and why it matters, was published by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in 2019.
Jamie Thrasivoulou
Lead Writer, Corby
Jamie Thrasivoulou is an award-winning writer, poet, and educator from Derby. His work has been published by The Morning star, Culture Matters and Hi-Vis Press, amongst others. His debut collection The Best Of A Bad Situation was published via Silhouette Press in 2017. His next collection Our Man was published in July 2019 through Burning Eye Books. He was a winner of the Culture Matters: Bread & Roses Award in 2018, and a member of the 2019 UNISLAM winning team with Birmingham University. He is the writer-in-residence at HMP Foston Hall and the official poet of DCFC.
Kevin Fegan
Lead Writer, Lincolnshire
Kevin Fegan is a playwright and poet who has written to commission over 50 original plays – including several award-winning shows, a Classic Serial and a Woman’s Hour Serial for BBC Radio 4. As well as working as a storyline writer for Granada TV’s Coronation St, Kevin has also published 10 books of poetry, edited dozens of anthologies and is a regular performer of his own work. Kevin’s play Bess the Commoner Queen toured in 2019 and current commissions include Pull Up A Sandbag for Birmingham Hippodrome which was performed by war veterans and their families.
Leanne Moden
Shadow Writer, Corby
Leanne Moden is a poet and workshop leader from Nottingham. She has performed at events across Europe, as well as regular appearances at UK Festivals like WOMAD, the Edinburgh Fringe and Bestival on the Isle of Wight. Leanne has performed at the Fourth Wave Feminist Festival in Hackney Downs, Trinity College Cambridge and as part of the TEDx WOMEN talk at UCL.
As a workshop leader, Leanne has facilitated sessions in a wide variety of settings including schools, care homes, hospitals, libraries and museums. She is also part of the team at UNESCO Nottingham City of Literature.
Leonie Martin
Shadow Writer, NE Derbyshire
Leonie Martin is a freelance writer and Writing for Wellbeing workshop facilitator. She has had short stories and poetry published in anthologies including the award-winning Perspectives (Wingerworth Wordsmiths, 2008). Leonie writes features for Reflections magazine and articles for health and faith related charities. During 2017/18 Leonie delivered a series of workshops in a variety of community settings as part of the Derbyshire Writing Residencies Scheme. She also runs sessions with older people as an accredited volunteer with The Reader.
Lizzie Dunford
Shadow Writer, NE Derbyshire
Lizzie grew up in Ulster, where she scribbled stories as the Troubles rumbled. Studying English Literature at university scared her off writing for decades, during which she taught English in secondary schools. At the age of fifty she began writing again and has recently completed her MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes with the Metanoia Institute. She is interested in the relationship between poetry and well-being, and is a member of Lapidus. Now working freelance, Lizzie is enjoying the vibrant writing community in Nottingham.
Lucy Grace
Shadow Writer, NE Derbyshire
Lucy Grace lives near Newark-on-Trent in the UK and writes award winning short stories and flash fiction. In 2019 her debut novel ‘Near Me Now’ is longlisted in the Lucy Cavendish Award, and her short stories and flash fiction shortlisted in the Chiplit Fest competition. In 2018 she won first prize in the Writers & Artists 2018 Yearbook Short Story award, was shortlisted in the Bridport, Fish and Reflex Awards and longlisted in the international Alpine Fellowship 2018 Writing Prize. Her work has been published in several print anthologies and online.
Lydia Towsey
Lead Writer, Leicester
Lydia Towsey is a poet and performer. Shortlisted for the Bridport Poetry Prize, she’s performed everywhere from London’s 100 Club and the House of Lords. Commissioned by the Guardian, Royal Albert Hall and Kew Gardens, she’s undertaken three national tours of her work. In 2018 she was listed for the Outspoken London Prize for Poetry in Film, and in the national Saboteur Awards for ‘Best Show’ and ‘Best Spoken Word Performer’. Lydia directs arts in health projects for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. She is the co-artistic director of Brightsparks and the artistic director of WORD!
Lynne McEwan
Shadow Writer Lincolnshire
Lynne McEwan is a fledgling crime-fiction author based in Lincoln. Her first unpublished novel was long-listed for the Yeovil Prize in 2017 and gained her a London literary agent. She is currently working on a follow-up. Later this year she will begin an MA (Crime Fiction) at the University of East Anglia. She also enjoys poetry and historical novels and has run her village book group for 10 years. Previously, Lynne worked as a photojournalist for national newspapers and has covered stories including the first Gulf War and the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
Lynn Ludditt
Lead Writer, NE Derbyshire
Lynn Ludditt is an award-winning freelance writer/trainer specialising in the design and delivery of bespoke intergenerational community programmes. She has written the This is Me and Back in the Day reminiscence programmes for colleges and works in partnership with schools, women’s organisations, care settings, community groups and theatres. Lynn has written a new theatre piece STUNG for North Derbyshire WASPI. She also co-ordinates The Story Mine Project for DCC, and is reminiscence writer-in-residence for Matinee Dementia Screenings.
Lytisha Tunbridge
Shadow Writer, LINCS/Grantham
Lytisha Tunbridge is a writer, performer and workshop leader. She works with people living with dementia, multilingual and cross-generational groups. Her pamphlet Every Last Biscuit was published by Green Feather Books and she has written for theatre and various anthologies. Lytisha is Chair of World Jam, global poetry and music collective. She produces events as Poetry Aloud at festivals and has performed at Edinburgh Fringe, Inspire Poetry Festival and Buxton Festival as well as internationally at Speakeasy, Brussels, Poetry Live, Auckland and Inside Out, NZ.
Michelle Hubbard
Lead Writer, LINCS/Grantham
Michelle ‘Mother’ Hubbard is an award-winning poet, storyteller, workshop facilitator and events co-ordinator. Founder member of BLACKDROP spoken word events and facilitator of Pendrop writing group. Michelle has over 20 years experience facilitating in schools, community centres, libraries, prisons and residential homes. She has performed on stage and on radio. Her anthologies include Poets In The Pink, Ten Years of The Chase, Hair Power Skin Revolution, Celebrate Wha, Sweet Beats For Keats, Chosen: Living with Adoption and more.
Owen Berkavitch
Lead Writer, Corby
Berkavitch is one of the most respected voices in the UK spoken-word scene. Former UK Slam Poetry Champion.
Berkavitch has showcased his poetry at Glastonbury, Latitude, Bestival, Reading, The Cheltenham Literature Festival and the Hey Festival. He has performed at venues and theatres including The Royal Opera House, The RSC and numerous others across the country. Berkavitch has toured poetry and spoken-word across Europe and Asia as well as having pieces commissioned by theatres and companies. His work has been featured on Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra and Radio 4.
Rob Gee
Lead Writer, Leicester
Comic, poet and psychiatric nurse, Rob has toured the UK, Europe, Australia and North America. He’s won numerous poetry slams, including the Edinburgh Slam, BBC2’s Why Poetry Matters Slam and the Orlando Poetry Smackdown, as well as over twenty awards for his solo shows. He’s shared stages with Sue Townsend (Adrian Mole), Harold Pinter, Jo Brand and Sarah Millican, and regularly leads poetry, comedy and creative writing workshops in healthcare settings.
Sabrina Mei-Li Smith
Shadow Writer, Leicester – Attenborough Arts
Sabrina Mei-Li Smith is a writer, lecturer, researcher and community artist. She has written for the BBC, the Royal Court Theatre and Nottingham Playhouse. Her play, The Holy Bible, has been developed through Derby Theatre, Tamasha and ‘In Good Company’. She is a tutor of creative writing, social and personal histories with Leicester City Council. The anthology Memories into Healing Words, which features co-created poems with Leicester’s elderly, was published in 2019. Sabrina is an Associate Lecturer and PhD scholar at De Montfort University.
Sonya Hundal
Lead Writer, Tonic Heath /
Shadow Writer, Wish You Were Here
Sonya Hundal is a British Asian writer living in rural Lincolnshire. Sonya has a background in performance, writing for theatre and in supply-chain management.
Sonya has been a First Story writer-in-residence since 2018 and is working again with young writers at Haven High Academy in Boston, following their third successful anthology launch. She is currently published in The Brown Anthology, Language, 10:10 Press and was shortlisted for the Bridport and Eyrie Press short-story prizes in 2019. She made it on to the Primadonna Prize longlist in 2020 (a real surprise) and her short-story, Fruit has been translated into Italian for the December 2020 issue of Rivista.
Trevor Wright
Shadow Writer, Leicester
Trevor Wright works part-time in social care and provides training and consultancy on autism. He is a regular performer at Nottingham and Derby poetry event, is the Co-Director of Derby Poetry Festival and has appeared at Nottingham and Gloucester Festivals. He has facilitated writing workshops with refugees, older people and autistic people and was shadow writer on the 2018 Local and Vocal project in Ashfield and Mansfield. His first poetry collection Outsider Heart was published in 2016 by Nottingham’s Big White Shed with his second collection Salt Flow published in April 2019.
The Elder Tree was part of the Celebrating Age programme, which was jointly funded by Arts Council England through the National Lottery and the Baring Foundation. It aimed to tackle issues of social isolation and wellbeing in older people, encouraging them to join in group activities focused around arts and culture.
"Taking part in artistic and cultural activities can make a huge difference in the lives of everyone, even more so when people are at greater risk of isolation. The Elder Tree invites people to share stories and memories as part of a group, and this a great way to not only stimulate creativity, but to make new friends too. This will make a huge difference, helping reduce feelings of loneliness as it brings people and communities together."