In a room at the Council on Aging last week, teen volunteers partnered on art projects with folks living with dementia. The pairs worked on paintings, collages and more.
It was part of OMA, the Opening Minds Through Art program, which included nine Marblehead student volunteers. OMA is an award-winning, evidence-based, intergenerational art-making program for people living with dementia.
“It’s a failure-free program designed to provide opportunities for creative self-expression and social engagement for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia,” according to an OMA brochure.
The sessions are led by trained facilitators, in this case Siobhan McDonald.
“For the artists, it becomes a time to be in control of their choices, whether choosing what colors of paint to use or how they are going to apply elements of collage,” McDonald explained. “It is an opportunity for autonomy and also for the artist to focus deeply on a creative endeavor. It is a chance for them to share stories that may come up in the course of artmaking.”
She continued, “A student might mention that they play baseball, and they get to hear the artist talk about their favorite childhood sports memories. It is time for socializing in a safe space. People living with dementia, especially early on in their diagnosis, may not feel comfortable joining activities they used to like — for example, if someone used to play cards or meet friends for a coffee at Dunks, they may worry about not recalling the rules of the game or saying something awkward.”
The high school students get a lot out of the program, too.
“They get to feel needed and are often shocked in a good way when they see the difference they can make in someone’s day,” McDonald explained. “They build listening and conversation skills and have to think about how to respond to different personalities.”
Quinn Cohane, a rising sophomore at Marblehead High, partnered with Duncan.
“Art is very interesting to me, as a retired engineer,” said Duncan, displaying his work called “Forest Image” with leaves placed in a circle and connected by yellow paint.
Cohane said he enjoyed the time he spent with Duncan.
“We talked about art and coming up with new ideas,” he said. “We also talked about high school and vacation.”
Rising MHS senior Serena Nyberg worked with Barbara, who described the program as “wonderful.”
Nyberg added, “It’s great to hear everyone’s different perspectives on life.”
Rising freshman Alec Lavender worked with Paul on a multi-colored collage and painting. Paul’s wife, Debby, arrived to pick him up and gushed about OMA.
“He loves the kids,” Debby said about her husband. “He’s seen all the bands they wear on their T-shirts. It’s great that this is intergenerational. Kids don’t know much about what happens when people get old. This is wonderful.”
McDonald is now training students in Swampscott for another session of OMA there.
To learn more about OMA, visit scrippsoma.org.
