Lauren Catlett worked with local retirement community residents in various stages of dementia to create this exhibit of their artwork. A volunteer at memory care facilities during her high school years in Richmond and the Adopt-a-Grandparent program at Madison House, she wanted to explore a more engaged and sharing relationship with the residents while focusing on the idea that the “care practice of people with dementia should revolve around treating them as people and not the sum of their losses,” she said.
Catlett researched the psychology of dementia, the care of patients and the role of the arts in aging in order to develop a program to engage residents through multi-sensory prompts which could provide conversation and inspiration for art.
The exhibit opens July 9 at the U.Va. Architecture School Dean’s Gallery and includes work from residents of: The Colonnades, Morningside Assisted Living, Our Lady of Peace Alzheimer’s Center and Rosewood Village.
A limited edition book of drawings and accompanying conversations from the project will also be available. “You couldn’t have the art work without the conversations that give the artwork context,” Catlett said. “They inform each other. I see the book as a way of preserving the project and conversations and a way of continuing the dialogues.”
