Building creative communities of care: Arts, dementia, and hope in the United States

Abstract

This essay explores the history of the cultural community development model in the United States and its potential benefits for transforming the lived experience of dementia. Using her work with the 2011 Penelope Project as a case study, the author identifies core elements of a “Creative Community of Care:” open systems; all activities are accessible; the arts are immersed into the environment of care; projects build on existing assets and rituals; projects evolve over long periods of time; and projects have high cultural value/capital.