Project ARTISAN: Fostering Aspiration and Resilience Through Intergenerational Storytelling and Arts-based Narratives

Summary

This pilot study adopts a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach to develop a novel ARTISAN intergenerational arts programme that aims to promote life meaning, resilience and wellbeing, as well as to enhance social support and national identity, among the older and younger generations Singapore. Utilizing a wait-list Randomized Controlled Trial design, 30 elderlies and 30 youths (N=60) will be invited to participate in a 5-weeks, 10-hours intervention programme.

Through the integrative processes of curated museum visits (art space), facilitated storytelling (art facilitation), creative art-making and reflective writing (art content), the intervention will focus on the exploration of five unique themes to engage senior-youth dyads. They include: (a) Discovering National Heritage, (b) Strengthening Social Bonds, (c) Overcoming Adversities and Resilience, (d) Building Dreams and Aspirations, and (e) Sharing Stories and Legacies.

Quantitative data obtained before and after the intervention will be triangulated with qualitative data generated from feasibility focus groups and reflective writings to explore its potential benefits and benefiting processes in achieving the aforementioned outcomes. To encourage social change and empowerment, public art exhibitions showcasing the artworks from this programme will also be held within the community. The findings from this study will form the foundation for a larger Population Health Project on Arts and Wellness.

Conditions

• Intergenerational Relations
• Loneliness
• Identity, Social

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

ARTISAN

In the first four weeks, dyads will engage in museum tours facilitated by a docent from the National Museum, followed by a guided storytelling/art-making session (inspired by the artifacts in the gallery), writing activity and group sharing/debrief. The first three weeks of art making will be pair-work by the seniors and youth, while the fourth week will be a collaborative art piece that is created by all participants in the working group. In the last week, the participants will be involved in a mini-exhibition where they will share their works with the group and members of the public, and engage in guided reflection on each other's artworks. The main content and discussion point for each session are as follows: * Week 1: Food and Play as our National Heritage * Week 2: Our Voices, Our Singapore: Strengthening Bonds * Week 3: Overcoming Adversities: Stories of Resilience * Week 4: Beholding the Future: Dreams and Aspirations * Week 5: Passing It On: The Stories We Share

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Museum of Singapore

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• TOUCH Community Services

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• National Arts Council

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Nanyang Polytechnic

  collaborator OTHER

• NgeeAnn Polytechnic

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Nanyang Technological University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Andy HY Ho · Nanyang Techological University

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

99 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-04-23

Primary Completion

2019-04-01

Completion

2019-04-01

Countries

• Singapore

Study Locations