Opening minds through art
Opening Minds through Art (OMA) is an innovative art-based program which connects students with elders with dementia and fosters communication, self-worth and social interaction through art projects. Beginning in the Fall 2015 semester, the IU East Center for Service Learning will be partnering with Friends Fellowship Community to present this groundbreaking service engagement program to IU East students and staff for the first time. OMA was developed by gerontologist and artist Like Lokon, who is currently director of the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University (Oxford, OH). She was motivated to create the OMA program after she spent eight years with nursing home residents, paying particular attention to the abilities retained by elders with dementia. She found that, even as … Continued