LEWISTON – SeniorsPlus, Western Maine’s designated Area Agency on Aging, is launching Opening Minds through Art (OMA), a new program that strives to bring joy, art, and pride to people living with dementia and Alzheimer’s in our community. Through a series of classes, OMA engages students with dementia in creating free-wheeling art. OMA classes will be offered Fridays February 3-24 and March 3 and 10 at the Education Center of SeniorsPlus at 8 Falcon Road in Lewiston.
During the six-week program, people with dementia (the “artists”) are paired one-on-one with volunteers who help them create art using imagination instead of memory. SeniorsPlus seeks students for the program, as well as volunteers to work one-on-one with participants in these art classes. No art background required. To volunteer, or to enroll a loved one as an artist, please contact SeniorsPlus, at 207-795-4010, edcenter@seniorsplus.org.
OMA is an award-winning, evidence-based, intergenerational art-making program for people with dementia. Developed in 2007 at Miami University’s Scripps Gerontology Center, the program is grounded in person-centered care principles. It is designed to provide creative expression and social engagement opportunities for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. OMA at SeniorsPlus is funded in part through a grant from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services.
