All of the artwork featured here was created by individuals living with Alzheimer’s, Lewy Body, frontotemporal, vascular, or related dementia, ranging from early symptoms to advanced stages. Dementia is a term for chronic brain disorders that are widely misunderstood, even by the medical community. When diagnosed, individuals and their families are often told to go home and put their affairs in order. Rarely are they provided with information about living with a chronic condition. Dementia is highly stigmatized by society. Stigma, wide-scale misunderstanding about dementia symptoms, isolation, and the lack of support when being diagnosed have a huge negative impact on the lives of individuals and families. Working with creativity programs all over the nation, the Dementia Action Alliance launched the Arts Fest to showcase that people retain many abilities, creative talents and the capacity for vibrant expressions while living with dementia.
