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Our community programme delivers creative activity directly to residents and staff in care settings and hospitals through conversation-led art sessions, live music, creative activities, interactive media and cultural outings. We create opportunities for connection, participation and self-expression, helping to reduce social isolation, inspire creative thinking and support wellbeing. We run sessions every weekday in London and Birmingham.
“Volunteering with Art Explora has had a profound impact on me, both personally and professionally. It has helped me develop confidence in engaging with groups, while also teaching me the importance of listening and tailoring experiences to individual needs. More importantly, it has reinforced my belief in the power of creativity to connect people and support wellbeing.”
Community Programme volunteer
Current programme

Arts at Home

Every week, we deliver a lively programme of conversations and creative activities in care homes across London and Birmingham. These programmes are designed to tackle the loneliness, exclusion and isolation felt by many people in care with limited mobility, cognitive decline or who may be suffering from dementia. Arts at Home is delivered fortnightly, consistently, and long term to build relationships and connections, and embed arts and culture in the lives of residents and staff. 
“My family can’t believe how much I’m loving this. I know nothing about art but I enjoy these sessions so much and I’m always talking about it now and what we’ve looked at. I really look forward to you coming.”
Care home resident, London
Arts at Home is delivered by our dedicated team of trained volunteers. They introduce and discuss artworks of their choosing with open-ended questions and thought-provoking prompts to spark conversation and encourage connection. No special expertise is required to become an Arts at Home volunteer – we provide induction and training.
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In 2025, the programme delivered 253 Arts at Home sessions with the support and dedication from 145 volunteers. We are grateful to every one of our volunteers. 
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If you are interested in volunteering with us, please contact our volunteering team.
Read about getting involved

2,979

resident participations at Arts at Home sessions

146

active volunteers (110% increase from 2024)

25

care settings across London and Birmingham

253

Arts at Home sessions in 2025 (up from 161 in 2024)
“I have been both thrilled and humbled by my experience. It really has been a two way street, I have learnt a lot from both the residents and my fellow volunteers. I really look forward to my fortnightly sessions and gain as much from them as I hope the residents do.”
Arts at Home volunteer 
Current programme

Music at Home

Music at Home shares the joy of music, singing and dancing with residents in two of our partner care settings in London. We work with partner charity Spitz Music who provide performers and musicians to raise the roof of our partner care homes!

Music can be an integral part of our personal identities, communities, and relationships. It has the power to create connections and activate memories. Its effects on older people, particularly those living with dementia, has been proven to be particularly profound. 
Current programme

Art Explorers At…

Art Explorers At... brings care home residents on visits to galleries, museums and theatres, ensuring that people of all ages have direct access to art exhibitions, museum collections and theatre or dance performances.

We have taken trips to Southbank Centre, Sadler’s Wells, Whitechapel Art Gallery, William Morris Gallery, Leighton House, Museum of the Home and many more! Our programme provides accessible transport free of charge, as well as coordinates with the museums, galleries and theatres for introductions and tours from staff to further enrich the experience.
“They went on a trip that was really good. [The residents] talked about it quite a lot afterwards. Just going somewhere different really made an impact on them.”
Care Home member of staff, London

Our care partners

Our Community Programme works in partnership with care settings in London and Birmingham. If you would like to partner with us, and offer arts programmes to your residents, please contact our Community Programme.

London

  • Battersea
  • Bow
  • Tottenham
  • Hornsey
  • Dalston
  • Limehouse
  • Shepherd’s Bush
  • White City
  • Westminster
  • Edgware Road
  • Marylebone
  • Tooting Bec
  • Blackheath
  • Leytonstone
  • Chiswick

Birmingham

  • Sutton Coldfield
  • Bromsgrove
  • Northfield
  • Kings Norton
  • Shard End
  • Edgbaston
  • Five Ways
Contact our Community Programme team
Current programme

It is Now

We work with digital artists to produce interactive and inclusive artworks which are installed in children’s hospitals across Europe. These immersive digital art installations are beneficial for children including those with special educational needs and physical disabilities, as they stimulate the senses and encourage creativity, curiosity and fun!
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It is Now was founded by Noémie Ganem in 2020 and has been delivered in partnership with Art Explora since 2023. In London, we have installations at Kings College Hospital, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and Whittington Hospital. 

26,910

beneficiaries in 2025

93%

of children smiled or laughed during the interaction

69%

of children expressed amazement or enjoyment vocally

88%

of children noticed themselves generating a response on the screen
“Not every moment in hospital should be defined by illness. Art can create space to breathe, bring families together, and inspire moments of wonder.”
Noémie Ganem
Founder of It Is Now

Past programmes 

Mini Art Explorers

Mini Art Explorers offered simple creative activities to early years children in libraries in Waltham Forest. Sessions were informal with a focus on play and fun! The activities, developed in collaboration with arts education specialist Dr Denise Wright, used readily available and inexpensive materials, so that parents and carers can recreate sessions at home.

In 2024, 19 Mini Art Explorer sessions were delivered to 211 participants from children and their parents/carers.

Theatre at Home

Theatre at Home was a programme delivered to our partner care settings by OW! Theatre Lab, a volunteer theatre company of women aged 70–87. Performances included a poetry jam, The Government Inspector and Our Countries Good. In 2024, Theatre at Home delivered 5 performances to 65 residents in different care homes.  

“The Poetry Jam was so fresh and different, they were such engaging and funny performances - but also real emotional moments too! I was really impressed at how the ladies inspired the gang to be creative and write their own poems.”
Activity coordinator on the Poetry Jam