THUNDER BAY -- A local art program has helped enhance the quality of life for a dozen individuals living with dementia.
An art based research project was designed for individuals living with dementia to explore storytelling and observe the details of living through watercolour paints, sewing, sharing and writing.
(re)Creating the Self provided an opportunity for individuals to express themselves and socialize with others.
Artist Eleanor Albanese combined visual arts with storytelling and each week was a theme, a time for sharing and a time for creating.
“My very first session we had coffee, tea, cocoa and cinnamon and these smells invoke certain feelings or memories,” Albanese said.
The creativity aspect helped stimulate senses, trigger hidden memories and encouraged conversation.
“People can enter into that creative space no matter what their background is and no matter where they are in life, so it creates a very democratic, inclusive and joyful setting for people to create.”
Public education coordinator Leah Clement said the program provided individuals with an opportunity to try something new.
“It’s essential to provide opportunities with many different skills involved, so they can keep challenging themselves and stimulating different parts of the brain,” Clement said.
“It’s important on the social side to bring individuals together…makes them speak up and have a chance to meet other individuals dealing with the same disease.”
Clement added that it’s important for individuals living with dementia to keep socializing throughout the disease because it helps keep different parts of the brain moving.
The organizers were only there for support it was the 12 individuals living with dementia who would bring up the word and talk about it with each other.
“It was amazing to see such a change from start to finish,” Clement said.
“It was really amazing to see their grown throughout the four weeks and how much they really enjoyed themselves together and expressed themselves through art.”
She added that a lot of the individuals talked about how much they enjoyed the program and how much they appreciated having a chance to come together with other individuals dealing with dementia.
Clement wants to remind people there are individuals in the community living with dementia and it’s important to make them feel included in the community and to allow them to express themselves.
The art will be showcased at the Waverly Library Jan. 21 until Feb. 4.
