Age Exchange
Blackheath
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A Blackheath-founded arts and reminiscence charity whose village hub has a not-for-profit café, a volunteer-run community library, a monthly book sale and rooms to hire.
Age Exchange is a charity that uses arts, culture, creativity and social connection to support people who draw on care. It was founded in Blackheath in 1983 as Europe's first organisation dedicated to reminiscence and intergenerational arts, recognising that people living with dementia have much to contribute, and its work helped lay the foundations for arts-based care and social prescribing.
Its Reminiscence Centre opened in Blackheath with the actor and MP Glenda Jackson, then its patron, and in 1995 the Bakehouse Theatre was upgraded into a reminiscence arts and training centre. Today Age Exchange is part of the social care charity Community Integrated Care, and its RADIQL model supports people with dementia, learning disabilities and mental health challenges to communicate, connect and thrive, through arts residencies in care homes and hospitals and projects across the UK.
At home in Blackheath Village, its community hub welcomes around 180,000 visits a year. The not-for-profit café serves Lavazza coffee, homemade food and cakes, with a sun-filled conservatory and a café garden, and every purchase funds the charity's work. Downstairs, the volunteer-run Blackheath Community Library is part of Lewisham's library service, and the hub hosts a monthly second-hand book sale that has raised more than £70,000 over ten years. Regular events, classes and activities help tackle loneliness and isolation, and the Bakehouse Theatre, the Studio and the Friends' Meeting Room can be hired for meetings, training, talks, rehearsals and performances.
What’s On at Age Exchange
Gallery
The Hub Café
Community Library
Spaces to Hire
Arts & Activities
Gallery
Products & Services
Community café
Not-for-profit café with Lavazza coffee, homemade food, afternoon tea, a conservatory and garden; profits fund the charity.
Blackheath Community Library
Volunteer-run library, part of the Lewisham library service, with books for families and adults.
Monthly book sale
Second-hand books, Folio editions, CDs and children's books; donations welcome at the café information desk.
Community events and activities
Regular events, classes and activities at the hub to tackle loneliness and isolation.
Space hire
The Bakehouse Theatre, the Studio and the Friends' Meeting Room for meetings, training, talks, rehearsals and performances (Monday to Saturday).
Become a Friend
Join the Friends of Age Exchange.
Volunteer
Volunteer in the café, library or book sale.
Donate
Support Age Exchange's creative care work.
Book Now
Tickets, visits or bookings are handled directly by Age Exchange through its own website or booking provider.
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