CULTURE CONNECTIONS (2021)

The Culture Connections pilot study investigated the psychological and social support value of online art conversations with Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), which had been tailored to people living with, or alongside rare forms of dementia.

The aim of the Culture Connections pilot workshops was to i) scope public interest, ii) test the content, structure and delivery and iii) measure the impact of the online art conversations on psychological and social wellbeing.

The project included training workshops for students and staff connected to the UCL Dementia Research Centre, and support workshops for members of the Rare Dementia Support Network. The training workshops had a stronger emphasis on the research background of the project and elaborated on how the VTS facilitation techniques scaffold observations, thought processes, and collaborative communication skills. The outcomes of the study showed that the online VTS art conversations enhanced feelings of social connectedness of the participants in both the training and support workshops.

Funded by a UCL Grand Challenges Special Initiatives Award, this project was a spin-off from the UCL I&E-funded CelebrAGE Innovation Network and expanded on a successful working relationship with The Thinking Eye, while simultaneously developing a new cross-disciplinary collaboration with the UCL Rare Dementia Support (RDS) Impact Study.