The Art Gallery of NSW has launched Arts Engagement for People with Dementia as part of Dementia Awareness Month.

Viewing art can be a source of both pleasure and enriching social interaction for people living with dementia, according to a new study. The Art Gallery of NSW, in conjunction with Alzheimer’s Australia NSW, has launched Arts Engagement for People with Dementia ­­– a newly published study of the Art Gallery’s Arts Access programme for people living with dementia – as part of Dementia Awareness Month.

The Gallery’s structured programme for people living with dementia and their carers – which followed a similar programme set up in 2006 by The Museum of Modern Art in New York – is designed to provide opportunities for meaningful and interactive engagement with artworks, offer intellectual stimulation and encourage self-expression as well as to promote lifelong learning and help reduce the stigma surrounding dementia.

Arts Access programmes at the Art Gallery of NSW

This study, commissioned by the Gallery in 2015, involved both qualitative and quantitative research to gain an understanding of the impact of the programme for people living with dementia. The results highlight the pleasurable experience that looking at art brings for people with dementia – as well as their carers, family members and health professionals. “While dementia impacts cognitive and physical functioning and memory, consciousness and emotions remain intact,” said the study’s author Dr Gail Kenning from the University of Technology, Sydney. “This means people living with dementia show affective responses and can experience the pleasure of looking at and talking about art.”

Alzheimer’s Australia NSW supports the findings of the study as they provide a valuable evidence-base for the outcomes of this kind of artistic programming. “This study did not focus on memory, and whether people living with dementia remembered their engagement with art,” said Kenning, “but recognised the positive impact of ‘in the moment’ pleasure of experiencing art and of feeling valued, supported, acknowledged, and challenged. This experience of pleasure impacted people with dementia as well as carers and family members.”

Arts Access programmes at the Art Gallery of NSW

Artworks selected for the study included award-winning works from annual exhibitions such as the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes and works from international touring exhibitions and iconic Australian masterpieces – as well as works from the Gallery’s ‘audience favourites’ such as Elioth Gruners Spring Frost.

Danielle Gullotta, AGNSW’s Access programme coordinator, was responsible for selecting the artworks for the study. “Participants have an opportunity for meaningful and interactive engagement with art and are invited to imagine and think creatively in a safe environment,” she said. “Guides encourage self-expression where participants’ curiosity is stimulated through focused observation, group discussion and personal connections.”

Loneliness and social isolation are some of the most significant issues people living with dementia face, according to recent research. “The theme of Dementia Awareness Month is ‘You are not alone’ and the Gallery’s Art and Dementia programming certainly underlines this message,” said Alzheimer’s Australia NSW CEO, the Honourable John Watkins AM. “The AGNSW Arts Access programming provides a much-needed respite from the day-to-day realities of living with dementia and caring for someone who has dementia – with obvious ongoing benefits for everyone taking part.”

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