Project Tours

Fostering Self-Directed Play Through Aesthetic Inquiry in Dementia Memory Care

People with dementia tend to rely on instinct and environmental sensory triggers to confirm where and who they are, yet these ties are disrupted when a diagnosed individual moves from home to a residential memory care community. These settings can be unfamiliar, and often missing are not only tangible ways to feel at home but also opportunities for residents to extend beyond a search for solid ground.

In this virtual talk, artist and design researcher Alicia Valencia will present approaches to co-create meaningful and enriching settings with dementia care residents. The presentation will begin with a display of recent work completed at Silverado Memory Care Community, an in-patient memory care facility in Escondido, CA, where Alicia’s father lived for two years.The presentation will highlight new ways to envision creativity and thriving in long-term memory care and pathways for conceptualizing new therapeutic directions in dementia care that incorporate self-directed play.