Opening Minds through Art event showcases artwork, special relationships formed between Miami students and elders with dementia

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By Margo Kissell, university news and communications

Harold, a resident at The Knolls of Oxford, admires his artwork with OMA student volunteers (all photos by Scott Kissell).
Becky Miley never knew how much her elderly mother Marjorie enjoyed painting until she started doing it every week at the Woodland Country Manor in Somerville.
After attending church on Sundays, “she’s in a hurry to get back and do art,” Miley said.
The 82-year-old woman has spent the last three semesters participating in Opening Minds through Art (OMA), Miami University’s award-winning intergenerational art program for people with dementia.
Student volunteers partner with elders in long-term care facilities to create works of abstract art in the program aimed at promoting social engagement, autonomy and dignity through the experience of creative self-expression.
Organizers say the program improves the quality of life for the elders, while providing service learning opportunities for students.
An OMA art show opens at the Oxford Community Arts Center (OCAC) Friday, April 14, with a reception from 6-8 p.m. (part of the Second Friday series). Free and open to the public. Details below. 
OMA was founded in 2007 at the Scripps Gerontology Center by Elizabeth “Like” Lokon, who earned from Miami a master of arts degree in teaching, a master’s in gerontological studies and a doctorate in educational leadership.
Lokon, OMA’s director, said she set out to create something to engage elders with different levels of dementia in a way that they would grow and flourish.

Martha delights in her artwork and her student volunteer Margot Duffy.
The program has taken off.
Today, it’s offered at 57 facilities across the United States and around the world. Six nursing homes in Alberta and Ontario, Canada, and one in the Netherlands offer OMA.
In Ohio, OMA is in 23 long-term care facilities, and the goal is to put it in 100 more ...

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