Dementia-friendly museum activities : an exploratory study at MUŻA, the Malta national-community art museum

Abstract

The role of museums in society have considerably changed over the past few decades. Originally, museums were mainly focused on the conservation, collection and interpretation of cultural heritage objects. Nowadays, museums have also acquired the role of fostering good practices towards promoting inclusivity and supporting social engagement and positive wellbeing. Persons living with dementia can greatly benefit from this. Several museums have already been providing tailored activity programmes for this specific audience. Even within the Maltese context, some activities were organised over the past few years for persons living with dementia, however to my knowledge, no studies have been conducted related to this topic. This dissertation serves as an exploratory study which delves into the design and implementation of an art-viewing activity targeted for participants living with early-stage dementia which was organised at MUŻA, the National-Community Art Museum in Valletta, Malta. It focuses on identifying whether this museum and its collections are suitable for such activities and if so, determining which ways can ensure engagement. Furthermore, an analysis of one such activity can also seek to identify how the main psychosocial needs of persons living with dementia can be met during such an activity. A qualitative approach was adopted for this research. It allowed for an in-depth and focused analysis of the activity that was designed for this exploratory study. Further to this, the triangulation method was applied, which included an observation study of the activity targeted for persons living with early-stage dementia and questionnaires answered by the same participants and accompanying informal caregivers and next of kin. Additionally, interviews with professionals both from the health sector and the cultural heritage sector were held which gave insight on their views when it comes to organising activities for this target audience. Emerging findings from this research study show how the in-the-moment person centred activity organised at MUŻA gave space for the participants to connect and engage in a meaningful way with artworks and artefacts which in turn was also a beneficial experience where the participant’s psychological needs are met. To conclude, this exploratory study could serve as a basis for future research related to this topic in connection to the Maltese context. Thus, this would contribute to the overall wellbeing of persons living with dementia while also being part of a wider community.