1. Painting and Cognition

Individuals with dementia experience deteriorating cognitive abilities that hold them back from
performing activities that define their individuality and hence reduce their quality of life. For
people with dementia, participation in a meaningful occupation can promote quality of life (QoL),
facilitate communication and emotional expression, and enhance personal relationships [1]. Cre-
ating art can help people with dementia to express emotions, memories, and ideas that may
be difficult to put into words. It can also provide a sense of accomplishment and purpose, and
can help to alleviate boredom and social isolation. Although studies on art’s effects on the
brain are limited, research suggests that artistic engagement may help to ease common behav-
ioral symptoms of dementia like anxiety, agitation and depression[2][3]. Additionally, several
testimonies illustrate that creative processes are used to evoke memories, enable people to com-
municate about their experience [9], to reinforce identity , and to strengthen relationships with
their own family members, as well as with care personnel and others involved in the intervention
process[4]. However it is to note that people without formal art training can participate in art
related activities after being diagnosed with dementia.
Painting in specific have shown to be beneficial in terms of reducing stress, improving expres-
siveness of an individual and helping them manage their emotions.The advantages are consid-
erably larger for elders suffering from dementia. Brain stimulation might deteriorate over time
if it is not consistently engaged. Painting demands concentration, which has significant benefits
for elders suffering from dementia. Painting, in reality, activates multiple regions and lobes of
the brain at the same time by activating both sides of the brain. Painting can help adults with
dementia make relationships and foster hobbies that might pierce through the cloud of memory
loss. However, this is based on the assumption that individuals with dementia are willing to and
can produce art and don’t have disabilities that hinder this activity.
To aid patients of dementia using the help of art, the right level of intervention and skill of
the facilitator is necessary. Professionally trained artist may be unfamiliar with persons with
dementia, whereas an activity coordinator with dementia expertise may only have a rudimentary
grasp of the art they are enabling. While there is advancement in assistive technology for leisure
and cultural or arts-based activities,as of 2018, very few devices have been dedicated to these
pursuits as of yet
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