Last week nationally renowned artists spent five days in residency at Signature HealthCARE locations across Kentucky. The artists’ residency is the next phase of the Peter Pan inspired I Won’t Grow Up Project where art, creativity and imagination is embraced in skilled-nursing care centers and breaks traditional boundaries.

“The power of arts in healthcare is transformative. All of us are searching for a little bit of magic and opening ourselves up to imagination brings that to life,” Angie McAllister, Director of Cultural Transformation at Signature HealthCARE and International Board Member of the Eden Alternative Registry.

The project is bringing these artists to Signature care centers in Kentucky: Kevin Iega Jeff, Chicago based critically acclaimed and award-winning dancer and choreographer; Jeff Becker, New Orleans based renowned director, designer, and sculptor; Cheyenne Mize, Louisville native, musician and music therapist; Bobby Martin, Kentucky native, theater/film artist, cultural organizer, facilitator and teaching artist; Andee Rudloff, Kentucky native, artist and muralist; Nicole Garneau, performance artist, educator and healing practitioner; and Dominic Campbell, co-founder of Creative Ageing International.

Creativity in care settings isn’t a new idea, but staff, residents, families and volunteers co-creating together is a new approach from the I Won’t Grow Up project. “Life doesn’t end when you go to live at a nursing home. Growth can continue all the way until the end of life. There is more than bingo and TV,” McAllister said.

For Quality of Life Directors, the project comes with the challenge of getting residents and staff out of their comfort zone. “They tell me, ‘well, I’m not an artist or a painter.’ And I say there’s no wrong way to do things,” Misty Montgomery, Quality of Life Director at Signature HealthCARE at Heritage Hall, said. “In Peter Pan, the story says, ‘What if I fall? But what if you fly,’”

The I Won’t Grow Up Project is a partnership between Signature HealthCARE and TimeSlips. It is funded by a Civil Money Penalty (CMP) Grant through the Kentucky Office of Inspector General and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) and grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.