Today, the International Conference of Alzheimer’s Disease International officially started in Perth, Australia. I had the chance to attend a very interesting workshop organized by the Art Gallery of Western Australia.
The “Art and Alzheimer’s” workshop allowed us the participants to get a better idea of the different art activities the gallery offers to people living with Alzheimer’s disease.
They also gave us the chance to be part of one of the activities they offer in which they show people living with Alzheimer’s one of the works of art they show at the gallery and then they ask them to reproduce a similar piece based in their own memories and lives.
This time, we worked with the painting called “Self-portrait” by the artist Iris Francis.
After looking at it in detail, we then started to replicate the painting using our own experiences and the different materials the gallery provided.
These were some of the resulting pieces.
This is an excellent way of stimulating people living with Alzheimer’s, it not only helps them express themselves artistically but it also keeps their memory, motor skills and creativity active.
Adriana Machado - Sensory Design for Alzheimer's Patients and Dementia 