THE GLOBE AND MAIL |Therapy at the museum: How the Art Gallery of Hamilton curates unique experience for people with dementia
Artful Moments, a program run by the Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH) aimed at people with dementia and their caregivers is part of a growing trend toward offering art therapy inside museums, as the institutions try reaching out to all sections of the community.
While the AGH concentrates on the social aspect of art therapy, researchers across the country are looking at its medical benefits for elders with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. For example, in Montreal, Dr. Olivier Beauchet, a professor of geriatrics with McGill University who works at the Jewish General Hospital, will soon publish a study showing dramatic decreases in mortality rates when patients were encouraged to make art – and the art was then installed in the wards for medical staff to see.