We have a date with art

The results obtained in the evaluation of the programme indicate that these aspects (stimulating and social activities) were also important elements in the experience presented in this work. The development of the programme provided the opportunity to engage in exciting activities – both visits to the Prado Museum and the art activities – different from the habitual ones that the participants used to carry out, and, for this reason, valued by them and their caregivers alike. In addition, as noted, the development of these activities promoted processes of social interaction. Sharing community space in the museum with the public in general was no doubt an experience of social inclusion, and working in the art-making sessions with artistic techniques that encouraged creativity and personal interpretation of the task they faced led to a rewarding experience, valued by all those involved in it, PWD, but also caregivers and AEs. It is worth highlighting the importance of the social relations between the AEs and the PWD in our results. Largely, this aspect can be considered essential for the satisfactory development of the experience, by ensuring a warm and welcoming climate in the different sessions that were part of the programme. Art, from this point of view, may constitute an interesting “mediator” of these social relations. The works of art that were part of the programme allowed all the participants to focus on aspects unrelated to their health conditions and their cognitive difficulties. In an earlier work (Ullan et al., 2013) it was found that the possibility of developing artistic activities could provide positive aspects to the experience of PWD, among which, we highlight mainly three: enjoyment, learning and a better self-image. This new experience reinforces this line of research, adding a dimension
of social inclusion derived from sharing the museum spaces and cultural resources without the fact of having a diagnosis of dementia being an obstacle.