Artecura portraits promote nonverbal dialogue with people with dementia

The idea: A creative art project doing portraits of people with dementia enhances the creative dialogue.

My name is Claudia Büeler. In 2001 I started an art project that enhances the creative dialogue with people with dementia. As an artist having studied art therapy I visit care homes in all over Europe to draw and work creatively with people with dementia. This idea could be implemented by Care homes, Research, Social and Educative Institutions, Health Insurances in terms of education and marketing.

In periods of 2-3 weeks I visit a care home, draw the faces of elderly people and enhance their own creativity. Then themselves and their companions, relatives and carers color the portrait. Out comes an interesting collection of paintings, that has the potential of deepening our little understanding on what and how demented people perceive.

In exhibitions the art work is shown to the public, so they see what´s still possible, they learn the different stages of dementia and the potentials of a nonverbal dialogue. The concept is even better when I initiate an intergenerational creative dialogue with groups of children or young adults. As much as the drawings worship old age with tenderness and beauty, the colorpaints of elderly as well as of the children bring fantasy, biography and aspects of their own perception. By showing a variety of aesthetic interpretations, the watcher is inspired and touched and the subject of dementia is spread to a large number of people.

To see examples of artwork, Please have a look at my webpage. Also, click on this link to see examples of portrait templates. http://www.artecura.com/Bilder_und_Zeichnungen/Bilder.html. Hover over the portrait with your mouse and see the finished portrait with colour.

Here are more examples of finished portraits: http://www.artecura.com/Bilder_und_Zeichnungen/ausstellung.html

In 2010 my first book about the many interesting encounters I experienced on my journeys was published. It´s called "Gesichter von Demenzkranken Menschen" (claus richter verlag, Köln, 2010) It is already translated into English, but not yet published.

I really like to inspire creativity amongst the elderly in their social environment. Having drawn over 750 people, I communicate both the experience in the dialogue and knowledge about dementia in workshops, seminars and public talks. But what I love most is to visit elderly in care homes, give them a good time and be their artistic voice to the society.

Claudia

Book: Gesichter von Demenzkranken Menschen

Published on 18 November 2011