Art for All Ages

Author: Ruby Moore

When I first joined the Music Between Us program (an interactive music-making experience for seniors living with dementia at the Williams Adult Day Center), I was a bit apprehensive because I have never been a part of a community engagement program quite like ArtistCorps, and I did not have any experience working with people living with dementia. However, as my team began to research and prepare for virtual engagement, I surprised myself with how excited I was becoming.

Not knowing much about dementia, I did not realize how much our senior population was being overlooked. I have always been passionate about early childhood development and knew that young children need constant stimulation to grow into balanced human beings. They need art and play. They need to talk, laugh, run, and jump. They need so much more than the basic human needs of eating and sleeping. Somehow, I managed to forget that it is not just children who need this stimulation, but that all human beings do throughout all stages of life. Seniors in particular need attention and care and it is commonplace in American culture to not give them these things. Once people in America reach a certain age, we send them to senior centers and nursing homes where others can take care of them for us. Their basic needs may be met in these centers, but oftentimes, they do not receive enough stimulation and human interaction to keep them engaged and help them grow. In these environments our seniors grow more and more isolated, and their daily lives lack art, music, and fun. For those with dementia, this devastatingly worsens their condition.

Our start date to begin virtual engagement at the Williams Adult Day Center fast approaches, as well as the day I will begin sing-alongs at the local senior centers, and my apprehension has transformed into excitement. I can't wait to form connections with the seniors in our community, and to interact with them through what I love most -- music!