Abstract
There is a growing interest in the role art museums might play in enriching the lives of persons with dementia. The literature has started incorporating the views of persons with dementia in the knowledge production, but in-depth explorations of their art experiences are still rare in the literature. This article adds to the research with a case study of a man with Alzheimer’s who regularly takes part in dementia-friendly guided tours at his local art museum. The article examines through a narrative analysis the role his visits to the art museum might play in the way he navigates life with Alzheimer’s. The authors argue that the art experiences are important cultural resources in the man’s effort to ‘hold his own’ faced with Alzheimer’s. The study is bound to a Norwegian context, but the art programme has similarities with related programmes at art museums in other countries.
Highlights
As the population is aging globally, the number of persons with dementia is growing exponentially
This article adds to this strand of research with a case study of John, a man in his mid-60s with Alzheimer’s disease, who regularly takes part in dementia-friendly guided tours at his local art museum
We chose to present John as a case study because we considered him to be a person we could learn a great deal from about the complexity of the personal experiences that can emerge from participating in an art programme at
Summary
As the population is aging globally, the number of persons with dementia is growing exponentially. A growing number of studies have recognised the role that art museums might play in enriching the lives of persons with dementia (Camic & Chatterjee 2013; Johnson et al 2017; Schall et al 2018). A case study of the experiences of a man with Alzheimer’s a museum Such knowledge adds to our understanding of the impact community arts programmes may have on how persons with dementia navigate their everyday lives. To contextualise John’s storytelling, John and the narrative approach are presented before we describe the art museum programme This is followed by the analytical approach and methodological considerations of the study. John’s stories are succeeded by a discussion of his stories in light of perspectives on agency, narrative resources and citizenship, to illuminate personal and societal aspects of how John is holding his own
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
