Art as ‘medicine’ in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (2013)

by alzheimerarchitecture

From April 2013 starts the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, in collaboration with the Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven, a special program for people with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. It is inspired by the ‘Meet Me at MoMA’ program of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

More and more people are getting directly or indirectly related to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and there is still are not a treatment. The Alzheimer’s program brings art as ‘medicine’. Looking at art offers the opportunity to exchange ideas without the need to rely on short-term memory and provides access to long-term memory and personal experiences. Moreover, looking at art stimulates the brains through cognitive exercise – research shows that this has a positive effect on health.