‘STRAY’. A story about a lost dog finding home.
During the four-year long Virutal Art Snacks program that linked artists with aged care residents in rural Multi-Purpose Health Services (MPS), the conversations and art making would often turn to pets. Long gone pets; pets that had to be rehomed when people moved into aged care; the importance of these physical and emotional connections when you live in aged care.
STRAY brings together two skilled artists to co-design a bespoke experience that will offer residents an opportunity to participate in workshops that offer a unique blend of puppetry, songwriting, movement and participatory storytelling.
Pilot program
A pilot has been trialed twice Multi-Purpose Facilities in the Western NSW Health District. The first pilot will be held at Blayney MPS over three weeks in November/December 2024 and over three weeks at Oberon MPS in February 2025.
Below is a short film by Henry Simmons following the pilot program at Blayney MPS in December 2024.
After each pilot feedback has informed the refinement of the project to prepare it for ongoing delivery as a fee-for-service for other aged care residences in the Central West.
Additionally, Arts OutWest will seek funding to offer ‘STRAY’ to Multi-Purpose Services who participated in the Virtual Art Snacks Program between 2020-2024.
Meet ‘Stray’
We commissioned puppeteer and artist Kay Yasugi from Pupperoos to hand-make ‘Stray’. The dog’s breeder name was Fluffy, but we’ll be letting each group of aged care residents pick the perfect name for the dog in their home.
‘Stray’ was made from salvaged and upcycled materials (see the short video Kay made below). ‘Stray’ comes with accessories including a sensory blanket, a heat pad for inside her tummy (so you can feel the real warmth of a pet), a grooming kit and toys. Fluffy is designed to be taken into aged care by a trained performer who can interact with residents in regular visits, perhaps creating new stories, art or performances together with the dog as the centre of this experience; or perhaps just quietly interacting.
In the video below puppeteer Kay Yasugi from Pupperoos introduces us to ‘Stray’.
HEALTH FOCUS RATIONALE
STRAY explores what happens “when we let the outside world move us”. People living in aged care occupy in an increasingly reduced world when in care, and the hero of our story Stray, is a dog puppet who through a series of gentle one to one and group contact points becomes the conduit for participants to reconnect and explore the outside world from a storied viewpoint. The stories collected from the residents will form the basis of a shadow puppet show that playfully and creatively mirrors their lived experience of treasured pets near and far.
Puppeteer/performer Catherine McNamara will operate Stray the dog and visual artist Cate McCarthy will lead workshops in shadow puppet making. Both artists will co-facilitate the story gathering applying a series of methods including movement, drawing, and painting, song and shadow puppet making.
The outcome will be a multi-dimensional experience co-created with the residents that includes a shadow-puppet performance, visual arts and song. We hope the puppet will generate joy, conversations and connections between residents, staff and carers.
Stray in your aged care unit
Contact Kate Smith at Arts OutWest for more information about having Stray visit your aged care unit. katesmith@csu.edu.au
Project news
ALWAYS a joy to share our arts & health work.
Thank you Lithgow City Council for inviting us to be a part of the Lithgow Health Expo, held as part of Seniors Week, Friday 6 March
Friday 6 March, 9am-3pm, Lithgow Workies
Meet our dog puppet STRAY! Project artist Cate McCarthy will talk about this amazing aged-care program whilst puppeteer Renata Commisso will guide the dog for a very hands-on meet and greet.
WATCH: Short film about the Stray pilot at Blayney MPS. Artists Cate McCarthy and Cath McNamara, working with Arts OutWest’s Kate Smith, designed a bespoke workshop blending puppetry, songwriting, movement and participatory storytelling for two pilot runs at the MPS at Blayney and Oberon.
More about Virtual Art Snacks and our work in aged care
- Watch a short film and read about Cate McCarthy’s storytelling project with Oberon MPS residents including the story ‘The Cat’s Eye’.
- Watch a short film from Cath McNamara’s beautiful performance and story-based residency at Blayney MPS.
- Watch a short film about musician Abby Smith’s residency experiences at Warren and Nyngan MPS.
Arts OutWest has a long history of arts and wellbeing work and has been specifically integrating arts into hospital and aged care settings since 2008. We are considered nationally as a leader in this work. Read more about the overall Virtual Art Snacks program.
Program: Virtual Art Snacks
Artist: Puppet made by Kay Yasugi from Pupperoos. Development and delivery of program Cate McCarthy and Catherine McNamara supported by Kate Smith.
Partner: Western NSW Local Health District
Funding (puppet making): the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund
Future funding (use of puppet in aged care): Funding TBC / Arts OutWest Cultural Fund / Fee for service.
IMAGE: ‘Stray’ in pilot program at Blayney MPS, still from film by Henry Simmons.