Creativity plays a vital role in healthy aging, supporting emotional well-being, cognitive resilience, and social connection across the lifespan- including for those living with dementia-related conditions. This webinar explores how ARTZ Philadelphia’s community-based, art-engagement programs help people tap into their innate creativity to spark communication, expression, and meaningful relationships.
Drawing on over a decade of ARTZ Philadelphia’s innovative and inclusive arts experiences, we will highlight how creative engagement - whether in museums, community spaces or at home - cultivates moments of joy, dignity and shared humanity. Through real stories, evidence-informed insights, and practical examples, you will discover how creativity supports identity, reduces isolation, and strengthens personhood, benefiting not only people with dementia but all older adults on their journey of aging well.
At the end of the webinar, you will be able to:
- Understand how creativity and art-based engagement support communication, emotional expression and connection for people living with Lewy body dementia.
- Learn how simple, accessible creative practices can be integrated into daily life to spark joy, reduce isolation and strengthen identity.
- Discover how community-driven arts programs foster dignity, belonging and shared humanity for individuals with dementia and their care partners.
About Susan Shifrin, PhD
Susan Shifrin is the founder and director of ARTZ Philadelphia. She founded ARTZ Philadelphia in 2013.
She is an art historian, curator, educator and arts accessibility advocate. She received her PhD from Bryn Mawr College and has worked on the staff of a number of large and small museums up and down the East coast.
Susan says: “I was inspired to start ARTZ Philadelphia after having hosted a series of workshops and programs for visitors with dementia at the Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College, where I was the Museum’s educator for a number of years. I was profoundly affected as I watched visitors, many in the later stages of dementia, come to life in the Museum as they looked at and talked about art with each other, with me, their caregivers, and the college students who worked at the Museum. It was so moving to watch this transformation in people who, in some cases, had rarely spoken about or shared their lives with others. Art was their vehicle for expression, interaction, creativity, and mutual respect. And for laughter – plenty of laughter.”
For questions or more information, please contact Rachel T. Rose, Education Manager at [email protected]
