WHEN A loved one develops dementia, one of the most difficult things to lose is their company. With conversation hampered by memory loss, a social life together or with others can fade away – but a new art project is aiming to change that.
“The idea is to create a meaningful social experience through looking at art,” explains Bairbre-Ann Harkin, education assistant and access officer with Dublin Contemporary, a modern art festival running in the capital until the end of October.
“Looking at and discussing art together can create a conversation that doesn’t rely on short-term memory,” she says.
Harkin came across the idea when working at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) where the Meet Meprogramme was designed to give those with Alzheimer's disease and their carers an expressive outlet.
This autumn, Dublin Contemporary will replicate the programme over two afternoons, inviting those in the early and middle stages of Alzheimer’s disease and their carers to share their views on the art they see.
“One of the biggest things following a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is the feeling of loneliness and isolation, that you are kind of on your own,” says Harkin.
“It’s important to have social things you can do that aren’t based around the disease, something that can allow families to reconnect with the person and have a good time together.”
Viewing a small number of paintings, sculptures, performance art works and installations during a 90-minute tour, Harkin describes her job as to simply “scaffold the conversation, but then to let things go with the flow”.
Working in small groups, Harkin says, “We would base ourselves comfortably around a sculpture, for example, so that everyone gets a good view, then we’ll point out various things and ask people what they see and what their impressions are.”
Looking at the art works one at a time, there is no emphasis on short-term memory and, in responding spontaneously to what they see, those with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia can participate at the same level as the loved ones who join them.
Harkin believes that contemporary art in particular frees people to see, and say whatever they like.
“If you are looking at a renaissance painting for example, there’s a language and a set of rules by which you explore that painting; with contemporary art, it’s very open to interpretation.”
Of her experience of the Meet Meprogramme in New York, she says the events tended to attract a lot of couples.
“It was clear that it was providing an opportunity for these couples to get out again as partners, perhaps doing something they used to do before the diagnosis,” she says.
It’s a theme echoed in a 2008 evaluation of the programme undertaken by New York University which noted that for many couples, once “normal” social interactions could become fraught with strain and shame if the person with dementia perhaps forgot familiar names or behaved unusually.
The study also found that for married couples, the opportunity to participate in the Meet Meprogramme together validated their identity as a couple.
Sons and daughters also expressed their pleasure in taking part in an activity with their parents in which both could be relaxed and engaged.
“The emphasis is completely removed from the Alzheimer’s for the length of time they are there,” says Harkin of the programme which now runs in 55 museums worldwide.
But Harkin also says that those with dementia can often bring new insights to the work that can broaden everyone’s thinking.
“With dementia, there’s the idea of the changing mind, a mind that might be no longer operating in such a structured way. It’s almost as though the mind is opened to see things in a different way and that can lead others to see the work in a different way,” she says.
In designing the programme, which will run at Earlsfort Terrace at 2pm on September 27th and October 18th, Harkin worked closely with Avril Dooley, grassroots co-ordinator with the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland.
Dooley says the society is delighted about the pilot, which is a first in Ireland. “A lot of our services are where the person with dementia comes to the day centre and the person who’s caring for them might go off and do something else,” she says.
“Just because someone has dementia, doesn’t mean that they don’t want to do things as a couple any more.
“There are so few opportunities for people to do things together in an environment where they feel comfortable, that’s why this is such a good fit for us.”
Dooley says the art project will allow those with dementia and their carers to “be there in the moment” and on an equal footing.
She also notes that looking at art can help recall the past, leading to new conversations.
“Art can evoke very powerful emotions for people, it’s all about how it makes them feel. Some of the memories it can bring out are really remarkable.”
To reserve a place on the free programme, contact Bairbre-Ann Harkin at Dublin Contemporary on 01-6787920.
