Welcome to the Reminiscence Arts Archive, a record of the work David Savill has created, directed or produced since 1998 when he joined the charity Age Exchange, serving as Artistic Director since 2005. The archive is a work in progress. We hope you will enjoy seeing it grow and expand as more projects, productions, exhibitions and films are added.

In 2003 David coined the term Reminiscence Arts in an attempt to explain the charity’s work to a major Arts funder sceptical about supporting an ambitious national programme. Thankfully the simple description helped clarify the focus, not only of that programme but all the work from that day forth. Reminiscence Arts, developed over many years is used to measurably improve the well-being and quality of life of all participants who take part. It is used to empower people in the lives they live in the present. The archive reflects the history of David’s work at Age Exchange since 1998. Age Exchange is a charity which welcomes over 190,000 people each year to its centre who take part in creative activities for people of all ages. Much of the charity’s work is outreach and is delivered in partnership with organisations specialising in: health and social care, heritage and museums, the arts, and education. In his role as Artistic Director David has worked in London, across the UK, in Europe, Canada, the USA and Australia.

When complete the Archive will contain: a catalogue of past projects, information about the practice and development of Reminiscence Arts, links to other relevant archives, reflections on past projects, and the people David and his brilliant colleagues have been privileged to work with over the years. We hope this is an important and useful resource for you and that you enjoy visiting this Reminiscence Arts Archive.

David would like to thank the many wonderful project partners, artists, care workers and volunteers without whom there would have been no work and no archive!

See the timeline of Age Exchange’s history.

Visit our Archive.