Grantees
and Partners

Overview:

Arts & Minds provides meaningful art-centered programs for adults with memory loss, Alzheimer’s, or dementia, and their care partners. Arts & Minds programs are held in museums, community centers and online, where teaching artists guide participants in group conversations about art followed by accessible artmaking workshops. A&M has led programs at museums including The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, El Museo del Barrio, The Jewish Museum, The Frick Collection and others.

Participating in a group activity helps lower stigma and reduce isolation and depression for both the patient and the caregiver. It is well understood that group activities that stimulate different parts of the brain are important for people suffering from dementia. Founded by a clinical neurologist and a museum educator, Arts & Minds uses a multidisciplinary approach to address quality of life for people living with dementia through engagement with art.

Dementia can be a highly stigmatizing and isolating disease. Symptoms range from mild to severe and can affect a person’s cognitive abilities including memory and learning, as well as feelings, behaviors, relationships. Research has shown that arts programming can help address issues of stigma, break down isolation for caregivers and patients, and provide important stimulation and activity.

Grant:

Purpose: To support museum and care facility-based programs for people with dementia and their caregivers.

Impact:

In 2025, Arts & Minds launched Arts & Minds en Español and conducted over a hundred programs in English and Spanish, online and in museums for approximately 750 participants. Museum partners include: The Studio Museum in Harlem, El Museo del Barrio, The Jewish Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bard Graduate Center Gallery, The Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University, The Frick Collection, The Whitney Museum of American Art and The Museum of Modern Art. They also launched Arts & Minds in The Heights in partnership with the Columbia University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, a weekly bilingual program that brings healthcare workers alongside caregivers and participants with dementia to this combination Memory Cafe / Arts & Minds workshop.

Arts & Minds facilitated community partnership programs for programs for 1,775 participants in older adult centers, assisted living facilities, a dementia day center, a Naturally Occurring Retirement Center (NORC), and an advocacy organization prioritizing low-income New Yorkers. Arts & Minds reached over 700 dementia care and museum professionals through conference presentations and Engaging Arts & Minds, an online training course designed to expand reach and improve access to art for individuals with dementia and their care partners beyond its NYC network.

Amidst their scheduled programs, Arts & Minds constantly engages community members at health fairs and public events. By providing programs for individuals experiencing dementia and their caregivers along with educating the public, Arts & Minds address the stigma and challenges around memory loss from several directions.