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Dementia and the Arts: Sharing Practice, Developing Understanding and Enhancing Lives

Explore, challenge and shape your perceptions of dementia through science and the creative arts

18,904 enrolled on this course

Photograph of people participating in a dance and music session
  • Duration

    4 weeks
  • Weekly study

    2 hours
  • Accreditation

    AvailableMore info

Understand how the arts can improve the lives of people with dementia

Creating a society that supports people living with a dementia is a major challenge - and opportunity. On this course you will discover how the arts can create a common ground between people. You will learn what we can all do to improve the quality of life and care for people living with different dementias, examining best practice and the limits of our current understanding.

Drawing on the work of the Created Out of Mind project during its residency at the Wellcome Collection, this course will expand your perceptions of the dementias and the diverse role of the arts in all our lives.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 15 seconds Hello my name is Sebastian Crutch and I’m a neuropsychologist directing the Created Out of Mind research residency team here at The Hub at Wellcome Collection. This online course about dementia and the arts aims to enrich, explore, and challenge perceptions of the dementias through a combination of science and the creative arts. The course, and everything you’ll learn within it, is designed to reaffirm the value of people with dementia and their experiences, and to demonstrate the power of the arts to communicate both the experience and biology of the dementias. During the four weeks of this course, you will learn from people living with different dementias, from experienced artists and practitioners, and from clinicians, scientists, and policymakers.

Skip to 0 minutes and 58 seconds Through videos, interviews, and reading, these contributors are keen to showcase current best practice, to explain the limits of our current understanding, and to set ambitious goals for enhancing the lives of anyone affected by one of these conditions. The course tries to represent a broad range of views, but in creating the content, we have been particularly motivated to highlight the value and importance of in-the-moment experiences. We talk of the arts not as things to be done to people, but with and for people.

Skip to 1 minute and 28 seconds And even if you don’t feel you have an artistic bone in your body, we think some of the examples of connecting, sharing, and creating with people living with dementia that you will see can challenge our views of the role of the arts in all of our lives. So whether you live with dementia yourself, are helping to care for or support someone who is, are an artist or practitioner currently working or thinking about working in the dementia and arts field, or are a student, scientist, or commissioner trying to understand the role of arts based practice in dementia care, we hope this course will enrich and shape your own perceptions of the dementias.

What topics will you cover?

  • Seeing the dementias differently through the arts and seeing the arts differently through the dementias
  • How can moments be understood, experienced and measured?
  • Creating Common Ground: The arts, equality and dementia
  • Language & Communication: How can we change the conversation?

Who is this accredited by?

Royal Society for Public Health
Royal Society for Public Health:

This course is accredited by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and is recognised by its CPD recognition scheme. Learners who choose to upgrade will earn 8 CPD points on successful completion.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Explore the emerging landscape for dementias and the arts in which artistic and cultural interventions are now being acknowledged
  • Reflect upon a variety of arts-based communication strategies that can be employed to engage with people living with dementias
  • Develop a qualitative appreciation of the value of ‘in the moment’ experiences
  • Reflect upon the worth of scientific research in bridging clinical sciences and arts-based practices to further our ability to care for people living with dementias
  • Describe the value of creating common ground, and the associated importance of shared experiences, co-creativity and equality
  • Investigate the role of language and communication on the perception of dementias
  • Apply knowledge to model a broader understanding of the lived experiences of people living with dementias

Who is the course for?

This course is for people interested in dementia care. You might be living with a dementia, helping to care or support someone who is, are an artist or healthcare practitioner currently working or thinking about working in the dementia and arts field, or a student, researcher or commissioner trying to understand the role of arts-based practices in dementia care,.

Who will you learn with?

Seb Crutch is Professor of Neuropsychology at the Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, & Director of the Created Out of Mind dementia & arts residency at The Hub, Wellcome Collection.

Janette Junghaus is Project Coordinator at Created Out of Mind, the dementia and arts research residency at The Hub, Wellcome Collection, and Research Assistant at the Dementia Research Centre, UCL.

Charles Harrison is Resident Artist at Created Out of Mind, the dementia and arts research residency at The Hub, Wellcome Collection.

Who developed the course?

UCL (University College London)

UCL was founded in 1826. It was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, and the first to open up university education to those previously excluded from it.

Created Out of Mind

Created Out of Mind is a team aiming to explore, challenge and shape perceptions and understanding of dementias through science and the creative arts.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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