Marsh Award

Lost in Art got a big boost in November when we won one of the Marsh Awards for Excellence in Gallery Education  – an annual Engage award aiming to recognise those working in gallery education who have shown dedication or innovation in their work.

 I had been  put forward by Sian Fitzgerald, Denbighshire County Council Arts Officer, who founded and devised Lost in Art. Its longevity has meant that it has become a flag ship project; pioneering intergenerational primary school partnerships as well as an artist mentee scheme and research programme. The prize was presented to Sian Hughes as the lead artist delivering the workshops at the National Engage Conference in Leeds in November.   Read More

Nomination:

Sian Hughes, artist and tutor, nominated for her work on the Lost in Artproject, which is managed by Denbighshire County Council’s (DCC) Arts Service and funded by DCC and the Arts Council of Wales. Based at Ruthin Craft Centre, Lost in Art is designed for people with dementia aged 50 and older, along with their family members and carers. The aim of the project is to explore the role of the visual arts in addressing issues that can affect people with dementia, including social isolation, confidence, communication and quality of life and wellbeing.

Lost in Art has gained plaudits from the Alzheimer’s Society, Bangor University’s Dementia Services Development Centre, visitors to Ruthin and the participants themselves. In nominating Sian, Arts Development Officer Sian Fitzgerald underlined how successful the project had become under Sian’s guidance and added that her contribution had made ‘a positive and outstanding difference to the lives of a group of people in Wales’.