MoMA

Foundations for Engagement with Art

This section details the practice of creating meaningful experiences with art. It contains four guides. The first guide, Foundations for Engagement with Art, presents an in-depth look at the preparations necessary to conduct an art-looking experience with individuals with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers.

This guide explains how to engage individuals with dementia and their caregivers with art. The methods can be used with groups or one-on-one, and can be adapted for various settings, from art museums and galleries to care organizations and private homes. These foundations can help to create meaningful experiences in any environment.
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Guide for Museums

This guide details how to establish a museum program for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers. Educational programming is at the heart of a museum's public mission and serves as a gateway for exploring works of art and cultural history. Offerings should extend to all audiences, including individuals with cognitive disabilities. The program should focus on participants' abilities in order to create an accepting and engaging environment in which the disease is a nonissue.
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Guide for Care Organizations

This guide focuses on the structure and set-up of off-site programs at museums or art galleries and on-site programs at your facility. Programs at your facility can be a source of pleasure and pride for participants. They also allow everyone to engage with art in a safe and familiar environment and might allow for greater participation, as some individuals may not be physically capable of making a trip off-site. Museum visits can also provide intellectual stimulation brief primer on issues to consider when planning a trip to a museum.
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Guide for Families

This guide provides information for planning a trip to a museum and creating stimulating art experiences at home. Visits to museums and cultural institutions foster positive interactions with others and with art. Explorations at home allow participants to engage with art in a familiar environment. It is ideal to relate your experiences at home with visits to museums, galleries, and other cultural institutions. An example that incorporates both runs throughout the guide.
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