Living Labs

In 2024 and 2025, CADA played a pivotal role in delivering three Living Labs projects, demonstrating the power of collaboration in real-world settings. These Living Labs brought together academic insight, artistic practice, and deep community knowledge, actively involving real users in real contexts to design, test, and refine new ideas. By uniting researchers, communities, businesses, and public organisations, the approach ensured that innovation was both practical and meaningful.

One standout initiative, Ridge Hill’s Creative Living Lab, showed how co-designed and culturally rich programmes can address deep-rooted social isolation and stigma among older people. By transforming personal stories into shared expressions of pride, the project fostered connection, visibility, and a renewed sense of belonging.

Similarly, the Labelled With Care Innovation Lab—commissioned by the Greater Manchester Creative Health Team—focused on older adults with caring responsibilities. It tackled the loss of autonomy and reduced access to cultural life often experienced by this group, creating opportunities for participation, expression, and recognition.

In Fegg Hayes, another Living Lab introduced a fresh approach to creative ageing, reshaping how older people connect, create, and feel seen within their community. Post-show discussions highlighted powerful themes: the emotional impact of genuine inclusion, the long-term harm caused by poor access or insensitive treatment, and the need for cultural spaces to move beyond token gestures of welcome.

Across all three projects, a clear message emerged: listening, storytelling, and co-creation are not just methods, they are catalysts for meaningful, lasting change.