Creativity, Connection and Culture: MCA Australia’s Art and Dementia Programs

Image: Artful. Photo credit: Jodie Barker

The successful art and dementia programs run by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia remind us that, despite great change and loss, creativity ignites connection.

At the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), art is more than a visual experience for people living with dementia. It’s a powerful catalyst that stimulates connections, memories and wellbeing.

The MCA’s established and loved programs – Artful: Art and Dementia and bangawarra Art Yarns: for older and Elder mob – offer people living with dementia experiences of joy, creativity and community, while promoting lifelong learning, social cohesion and wellness.

Both programs provide people living with dementia opportunities to view art and get involved in hands-on creative making. Artful and bangawarra Art Yarns aim to foster imagination and agency, contributing to improving the quality of life of participants and their care networks.

During an Artful workshop, participants are supported by trained artist educators to become active art makers and storytellers. Workshop sessions are accompanied by ‘Artful at home’ packs which provide participants with the materials needed to continue their creative practice at home and extend the benefits of the program well beyond the museum walls.

The programs also integrate Community Days, which offer an opportunity for the wider public to be engaged in celebration, building awareness of dementia and showcasing the participants work and stories. They also host space to nurture an ongoing community of people living with dementia and their support networks.

“The programs remind us that even as memories fade, creativity may endure.”

Compelling research, informed programming

Artful has been carefully designed and is informed by research conducted by University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre and Dementia Australia.

The research behind the program is as compelling as the art. The three-year pilot research program, run by University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre and Dementia Australia, found that engaging people living with dementia in creative processes could support neuroplasticity and strengthen connections between brain cells.

When Professor Sharon Naismith, head of the centre's healthy brain ageing program, was interviewed about the program for the Sydney Morning Herald, she said:

"A lot of programs in the past have only asked people to look at paintings and talk about them, whereas in this one there is a lot of tactile stimulation and using brain cells that people haven't been using for a long time.”

The research showed that 97.5 per cent of respondents felt the Artful program improved their quality of life, while 71 per cent of respondents believed the program improved their relationships. The study also revealed that the program offered the participant with dementia and their carer the opportunity for new meaningful connections.

Building on the success of Artful, the MCA also launched bangawarra Art Yarns – a First Nations-led program that honours the cultural wisdom and creative traditions of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Delivered by Muruwari researcher, Dr Virginia Keft, and the MCA’s team of First Nations artists, these interactive ‘art yarning’ sessions foster storytelling, connection, and cultural pride in a relaxed and family-centred environment.

The MCA recently partnered with Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) on the Art Yarns program. The research showed that the weekly programs reduced isolation through multi-sensory engagement grounded in cultural yarning and art-making. The research highlights the role of First Nations knowledge and storytelling in maintaining strong cultural connection and identity.

In an age where dementia affects over 411,000 Australians – and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders peoples experience rates of dementia 3 to 5 times higher than the general population -programs like Artful and bangawarra Art Yarns provide communities with a tangible way to use art to encourage hope, positivity and life-changing experiences. The programs remind us that despite great change and loss, creativity ignites connection. In spaces filled with light and colour, new stories are always waiting to be told.

MCA’s Art and Dementia programs have received three years funding from the J.O & J.R Wicking Trust managed by Equity Trustees. Artful is co-funded with Platypus Asset Management.