SWAMPSCOTT — Members of the community gathered at the Senior Center for the premiere of the Opening Minds Through Art documentary and its summer session art show.
Originally developed at Miami University in Ohio, Opening Minds Through Art is an evidence-based, intergenerational art-making program for people living with dementia. The artists are paired with volunteers who are trained to rely on imagination instead of memory.
Locally, Swampscott High School students have been trained by Granger St. Studios founder and certified dementia practitioner Siobhan McDonald, as part of health teacher Hadley Woodfin’s curriculum. Heidi Whear, the Senior Center’s director of aging services, gave credit to Woodfin for being a driving force in introducing her students to the program.
The documentary followed the students and seniors who partook in the fall session of the program. Rising junior Daniel Miretsky was responsible for filming and putting the video together along with fellow Swampscott TV members Joe Douillette and Sammy Dowd.
“I’ve never filmed anything like it and it was pretty interesting,” Miretsky said. “We just walked around to each group one-at-a-time trying to capture the different aspects of what the program is all about.”
Seniors and students were both interviewed as footage of them creating art together played. Student Chloe Overbaugh and senior Bill Key were one of the featured duos, and they both spoke extensively about the bond they forged.
“I was very much surprised and very pleased. I enjoyed working with Chloe,” Key said. “She was really a joy to work with and I enjoyed her very much.”
Overbaugh was one of multiple students who returned to the program this summer. Senior Center outreach social worker Sabrina Clopton expressed her pride in and gratitude toward the 20 students who took time from their summer vacation to be a part of Opening Minds through Art. She noted how newcomers had to go through the extensive training process.
Interest spread even beyond the students, as Ashley Burse decided to get involved herself after learning about the experience from her daughter, Lauren.
“Personally I’ve had experience with family members living with dementia, my father-in-law, my grandmother, so it just felt like something that would be really nice for us to do together, my daughter and I,” Burse said. “It has been a really meaningful experience.
