BH Live is one of the first national cultural organisations to adopt the Family Arts Campaign’s new Age-Friendly Standards.
They were developed in consultation with leading experts including Age UK, 170 arts and cultural organisations, and older arts attenders.
The Age-Friendly Standards provide specific guidance on welcoming older people and displaying this new kitemark affirms that the organisation has considered the often more complex needs of older visitors.
BH Live prides itself on the exemplary welcome provided to older members of the community through its diverse programme of cultural events and activities across venues including Bournemouth Pavilion and Bournemouth International Centre. Older people are valued customers and these Standards send a clear message that they are a priority for the organisation.
The development of the Age-Friendly Standards is a response to reported trends which indicated a significant drop-off in cultural engagement in later life, due to multiple barriers which older people may encounter.
The significant opportunity for arts and culture to play a role in enhancing quality of life for older people is further reflected in Age UK’s 2017 Index of Wellbeing in Later Life[1] which reports ‘Creative and cultural participation’ to be the most prominent indicator to wellbeing in later life, scoring highest amongst a large range of contributing factors.
The Age Friendly Standards address five key areas when welcoming older audiences:
- Building relationships
- Considering suitable programming
- Providing appropriate facilities
- Communicating appropriately
- Providing a warm welcome
“As a social enterprise, one of our aims is to enable as many people as possible to enjoy cultural events and activities to promote greater community health and wellbeing, says Peter Gunn, BH Live’s Chief Executive.
“We do this in many ways. For example, creative programming with a range of genres and activities, appeals to people of all ages. Concessions for people aged over 60, or who are on low income, reduces financial barriers and our access scheme provides customers who have accessibility requirements with additional support.
“In fact 24% of customers on our access scheme are aged over 60 and, of the half a million event tickets that we sell each year, 1 in 10 is an over 60s concession. These initiatives, and many more, go a long way towards making it easier for more people to enjoy cultural events in the south. We are delighted to adopt the Age-Friendly Standards to highlight our commitment to older people in our community and hope that many more will join us.”
The development of the Age-Friendly Standards was supported by Arts Council England.
Further information on the Age-Friendly Standards on familyarts.co.uk/age-friendly
ENDS
Notes to Editors
About BH Live
BH Live is the south coast’s leading operator of leisure and event venues; a social enterprise that designs and builds engaging experiences to inspire people and enrich lives.
Venues include Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth Pavilion and Portsmouth Pyramids.
With 3.4 million visits a year and over £39 million turnover, the organisation is changing lives – placing it at the heart of the UK’s growing social economy.
In 2016/17 BH Live hosted more than 500 events, sold over half a million cultural, sporting and entertainment tickets. They had 2.9 million activity attendances in its leisure centres and welcomed 100,000 conference and exhibition delegates into its venues. This contributed an estimated £44 million to the local economy through business and cultural tourism. For more visit bhlive.org.uk
Get social with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter @BHLIVE_UK
For further information about BH Live’s provision for older people please contact: paul.griffiths@bhlive.org.uk
For more information about BH Live please contact:
Elizabeth Symmons, PR & Corporate Communications Executive
E: press.office@bhlive.org.uk
T: (01202) 055562
For further information about the Age-Friendly Standards or the Family Arts Campaign please contact:
Clair Donnelly, Family Arts Campaign Project Manager
020 3198 6106
clair@thealbany.org.uk
The Family Arts Campaign is a large scale, national collaborative programme led by the cultural sector to increase levels of arts engagement by families and across generations. It aims to support organisations in providing high-quality activities for families and in growing and broadening the number of both younger and older family members taking part in the arts. The Campaign is an initiative of 10 arts organisations and trade bodies: The Albany, Association of British Orchestras, UK Theatre, Society of London Theatre, Independent Theatre Council, One Dance UK, Contemporary Visual Arts Network, The Audience Agency, Voluntary Arts Marketing Association. It is supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. They support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2015 and 2018, ACE will invest £1.1 billion of public money from government and an estimated £700 million from the National Lottery to help create art and culture experiences for everyone, everywhere.
[1] http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/For-professionals/Research/AgeUK-Wellbeing-Index-Summary-web.pdf?dtrk=true