Art to Remember is a program offered by the Joslyn Art Museum that serves people dealing with memory loss.
Special tours are offered every other month to those who have early stage Alzheimer’s disease, as well as their caregivers.
Susie Severson, Director of Adult Programs at Joslyn Art Museum, says Art to Remember began with a short pilot series in the summer of 2016.
Severson says it worked so well that the museum decided to continue on with it.
Art to Remember tours are capped at 12 participants so those attending can have a better one-on-one experience. Each tour is designed by a docent.
"We like to focus on a particular overarching theme and one that is rather universal in nature, whether it’s family or love or friendship or something like that that everybody can relate to in one way or another. And then we use the artworks to access different memories, maybe some long-term memories that really resonate with our guests.”
Severson says research has shown that the arts have a significant impact on brain health. She says tours like this may help people with their cognitive abilities.
Art to Remember is offered in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association’s Nebraska chapter. For more information, the website is alz.org/Nebraska.