Mesa Arts Center dementia program

Mesa Arts Center offers a welcoming space for adults living with dementia and their caregivers to engage in free, artistic experiences through Arts in Mind, a monthly program designed to build a sense of community and encourage hands-on creativity. This is held on the second Tuesday of each month from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Mesa Arts Center. The program brings people together through visual arts, movement, music and mindfulness.

Laura E. Wilde, Director of Studios at Mesa Arts Center, joined “Arizona Horizon” to talk about this program.

“It’s designed to provide caregivers and their loved ones living with dementia an opportunity to do a number of different things. For caregivers, it’s to provide respite and a sense of community, and for loved ones to allow them to experience art making in a safe and supportive environment,” Wilde said.

Arts in Mind sparked from the effects of people living with dementia and the loved ones assisting them during the pandemic. Their research showed that having conversation was very important. That is how the first 30 minutes of the program start. Then the participants and loved ones get one hour to enjoy and create different forms of art.

“It’s a lot of visual arts; the tangible motor skills are really important. We’ve also done movements of things like fibers, we’ve done music, we’ve doe storytelling, painting and drawing,” Wilde said.

Art is just part of the program however. Wilde said the goal is to “build community, try something new and build the confidence to do that and hopefully contribute to overall wellness.”

According to the program’s feedback, the people who participate in the activities at Arts in Mind experience a good mood for the rest of the day. From the caregivers, they enjoy seeing the participants experience happiness within the program since people who experience dementia can easily experience bad moods, according to Wilde.