Opening Minds through Art

OMA was founded by Dr. Elizabeth “Like” Lokon in 2007 and is grounded in person-centered care principles. It is headquartered at Scripps Gerontology Center, an Ohio Center of Excellence at Miami University. People with dementia (artists) are paired with volunteers (students, families, caregivers) who are trained to rely on imagination instead of memory and focus on remaining strengths instead of lost skills. OMA enables people with dementia to assume new roles as artists and teachers and leave a legacy of beautiful artwork. OMA has been widely replicated.

We train students, community members and other volunteers to communicate and work with people with dementia. During the OMA sessions, the elder artist completes an abstract art project while the volunteers  provide encouragement, friendship, and enable mechanical tasks. The program facilitates relationship building between two populations that otherwise may not come together, and prompts empathy and compassion.