ARTS & MINDS INC
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Mission Statement
Arts & Minds is a non-profit organization working to improve quality of life for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. We partner with museums to provide meaningful art-centered activities to create positive cognitive experiences, enhance communication and reduce isolation. Our programs empower people with dementia, family members, professional caregivers, and educators to strengthen social, emotional and spiritual bonds by engaging with art.
About This Cause
Founded in 2010, Arts & Minds is a not-for-profit organization committed to improving quality of life for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias through engagement with art. We partner with museums to provide meaningful art-centered activities that create positive emotional and cognitive experiences, enhance verbal and non-verbal communication, reduce isolation and build social networks. Our programs empower people with dementia, family members, professional caregivers and educators to strengthen social, emotional and spiritual bonds by engaging with art. The Arts & Minds organization is physician-led and dedicated to working in underserved communities. Co-founders Dr. James M. Noble MD and Carolyn Halpin-Healy, who has taught at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for over 20 years, unite their expertise in education, art and art history, medicine and public health to continually serve local communities and to look beyond our core programs in New York City to the whole of the United States. Museums hold great potential to function as spaces of social inclusion and personal growth among people facing debilitating health challenges. Arts & Minds directly administers programs in 5 museums in New York, which would otherwise not accommodate the growing population of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. We link the geriatric care community with The Studio Museum in Harlem, the New-York Historical Society, El Museo del Barrio, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Jewish Museum. At SMH, NYHS and El Museo, Arts & Minds administers and implements all aspects of the program. At The Met and Jewish Museum, we complement existing programs developed in those museums to expand the offerings and reach more participants. Arts & Minds programs are designed to address symptoms of apathy, unpredictable behavior, and other cognitive and behavioral changes. With expert facilitation by trained professional teaching artists and educators, and among others sharing similar challenges, art can tap into emotion, memory and imagination. Research shows improved mood for both individuals with dementia, and for caregivers, as well as reduced apathy for individuals with dementia and reduced isolation and stress for caregivers. For older adults, involvement in participatory art activities reduces falls, doctor visits, and medication use, while supporting overall health and boosting morale. Arts & Minds participants benefit from the stimulation of cognitive functions and increased rapport with other people. In addition, the museums reach a new audience and serve vulnerable members of the community. By connecting professionals, patients and museums, Arts & Minds ameliorates the fear and stigma of Alzheimer’s disease and contributes to a world where, in the absence of a cure, it is possible to live well with dementia. 90-minute sessions consist of collective looking at art to stimulate a dialogue of response and interpretation in the galleries, followed by hands-on art making in the workshop, which activates creative expression. The program consists of an intimate group of five or six people with dementia and their care partners, serving a total of 10-20 participants at one time. At each museum participants attend twice each month. As a result, individuals develop familiarity with one another while sharing in the joint experience of art. By providing this ongoing support, Arts & Minds has a powerful impact over time.