Dementia and Imagination

Arts for Health at MMU is a partner in one of five projects that will see university researchers, community groups and national charities and trusts working together to explore community health and wellbeing, community engagement and mobilisation. Arts for Health is part of a collaborative research group that has been awarded a large grant in the Cultures, Health & Well-Being theme, one of five Connected Communities Programme themes which share funding in excess of £7m.

The focus of the Connected Communities Programmes is on engaging with communities, giving them the opportunity to contribute to the creation, design and production the research. By working in partnerships with community groups the research is able to produce knowledge and create resources that are of direct significance to the groups involved but also have wider societal, cultural and economic benefits.

Led by Bangor University's Dementia Services Development Centre, the three-year project receives £1.2 million researching how taking part in visual arts can contribute to the health and well-being of people with dementia.

Clive Parkinson will be leading specific areas of this work around art in the research process and engagement through art, that brings together social sciences researchers specialising in dementia, gerontology, psychology and economics with researchers in the visual arts, cultural policy and museum studies.

The research will ask the question: How can visual arts interventions change, sustain and catalyze community cultures, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours to create dementia friendly communities?

We will be developing a dedicated website for this exciting research project.