Dementia Positive

Communication through creativity

picture of stained glass window  The Communication Through the Arts Project followed on from John's poetry and writing work with people with dementia .

It was in part inspired by the words of a lady with dementia who said to John: "The arts is all that's left. Give them us!"
Having seen the power of creative language for people with dementia, it seemed logical to explore the potential of other artforms to help people to express their thoughts, feelings and needs, and to maintain and develop relationships.

 Since many artforms are nonverbal this work seemed particularly important for people whose use of language had declined through the development of their condition.

(The stained glass piece featured here was made by people with dementia in Angus, Scotland with the help of stained glass artist Steve Davidson.)

picture of Guard Dog  The Project began in 1999 when the Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) , University of Stirling secured funds, initially from the Linbury Trust, and later from Comic Relief, the Scottish Arts Council and the Morton Charitable Trust.

In the 6 years since the project began a large number of small-scale pilot projects have been conducted, mainly by artists working in service settings. The artforms explored include painting, photography, video-making, stained glass making, song-writing, drama, collage, feltmaking, storytelling and others.

As part of our celebration of the creativity of people with dementia, the DSDC displays works of art within its home, the Iris Murdoch Building, and hosts exhibitions of work. This picture is of 'Guard dog' by Christophe Grillet, who took up sculpture after he developed dementia.
  

picture of hands & yarn  Although some of the projects have resulted in tangible outcomes in the form of artworks, videos etc, the main emphasis is on the process - exploring ways for the creative activity to help people to express themselves and communicate with those around them.
Of course, capturing and understanding aspects of the process is a challenge. Part of the project has looked at various ways of evaluating arts work by consulting the people with dementia who take part about the meaning and value to them of being involved .

picture of Celebrating the Person Activity Pack The most recent work has focused on the role of photography and video. The current phase is concentrating on spreading the word about the potential of these artforms for people with dementia and those who support them.

Leaflets have been produced and John is currently providing free presentations to interested organisations in Scotland. If you would like to find out more about this work, please email John (this is his university email address).
The photograph featured here is by James McKillop, a man with early onset dementia who took up photography after his diagnosis. James has played a very active role in highlighting issues for people with dementia in the UK and abroad. DSDC has published a book of his photographs which you can find through the link below.

No Text One of the outcomes of the Project is a range of arts publications produced by DSDC. These attractive and colourful resources are designed to support people with dementia, care practitioners and relatives in using creative activities.

There is also a more general book, co-authored by John Killick and Anne Basting, and published by the National Center for Creative Aging in New York. This is aimed at service providers and offers guidance about a wide range of issues involved in setting up and running arts projects with people with dementia.

In addition to the books published, there is a series of videos showcasing various arts projects and activities.

You can view details of these publications on DSDC's website.



References for work on creativity in people with dementia

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