Lanterns light up lives of Sussex care home residents

The In Our Garden project, organised by artists at The Lantern House in Brighton, was awarded an Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant to bring a bright hope, a little light for the future, entertainment and a talking point to care settings.

Eight care homes in Sussex were chosen, including Rectory House in Sompting, Valerie Manor in Upper Beeding, and Croft Meadow in Steyning, and each was given a selection of lanterns to light up their gardens for a week.

Melanie Jupp, activities champion at Croft Meadow, said: “Care homes are a cornerstone of our community and so the harsh reality of having to withdraw from local life in recent months has been a blow to us all.

“To be considered for this lovely arts project not only makes us feel remembered but literally brings a little light back in to the lives of all who live and work here.”

Artists Jo Coles and Sarah Parsons also sent each home a lantern pack, so the residents could make a star lantern to hang in their home until spring.

Sarah said: “We had the idea for the project back in June when we saw the situation that had occurred during lockdown for care homes.

“We knew the likelihood of a similar scenario coming back in the autumn for them and we wanted to do what we could to bring some fun and light to people who couldn’t go out to find it.”

Pre-stamped postcards of the lanterns were also provided, so staff and residents could share their experience with loved ones and neighbours.

Jo added: “Both of us have a history of working in care homes as artists and staff and are aware of the isolation, sense of abandonment and risk to health and community disenfranchisement that people in these homes have felt during the pandemic, along with their families and staff.”

Jo and Sarah have been freelance artists for more than 20 years, working for many arts organisations to make both small and large-scale structures for and with the community.

They set up The Lantern House two years ago to continue to develop their skills and love of lantern making by creating lanterns for hire for events.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.