A research project which focused on those who have problems communicating with words has been praised by the judges of a national award ceremony. Beyond Words was led by the University of Plymouth’s Plymouth Institute of Education and Plymouth Music Zone (PMZ), and funded by the Arts Council England Research Grants programme.
Its success has been cited by a number of celebrity judges as they named PMZ the winner of the 2020 Hearts for the Arts Award for Best Arts Initiative.
The awards are organised by the National Campaign for the Arts, and aim to celebrate the unsung heroes of local authorities who are championing the arts, often within a climate of severe financial challenges.
Among the judges this year were actor and activist Julie Hesmondhalgh, famous for playing Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, who said:
“The impact on Plymouth Music Zone’s users is plain to see from the figures and the testimonials, and the Beyond Words evaluation truly groundbreaking and innovative. Long may this fantastic organisation grow and thrive.”
The Beyond Words project ran from 2015 to 2017 and was the first to focus on post-verbal people and music, and one of the first to explore how music can have a positive effect on a wide range of health-related issues.
It also made a number of policy recommendations, including suggesting that policy makers should recognise post-verbal people as a neglected and vulnerable group that requires specific care and attention.
Since its conclusion, University researchers have continued to work with PMZ colleagues, running a workshop for social workers as part of the 2017 ESRC Festival of Social Science .
They have also published research articles, with a book – Lifelong Learning and Dementia: a post-human perspective– scheduled to be released in May 2020.
