Racine Art Museum Ignites a ‘SPARK’ of Creativity

For people dealing withAlzheimer's disease, venturing outside of the home can be a challenge. Tricia Blasko, curator of education atthe Racine Art Museum (RAM), hopes to ease some of those challenges byspearheading a new program for people with memory loss and their caregivers.SPARK, as the pilot program is called, offers a variety of free art experiencesfor those affected by Alzheimer's. SPARK is modeled after a successful programof similar scope at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Whattypes of activities are included in the SPARK program?

We basically do twoprograms in two locations. At RAM's Wustum Museum we are creatinghands-on artreally nice, inspiring artwork using different techniques. We'vedone ceramics and clay, watercolors, and fabric weaving, which was aninteresting challenge but actually turned out really well. At RAM we arefocusing more on conversations about the art in the galleries. We are alsoworking with our public library and local poets to do poetry readings, andbringing in Danceworks from Milwaukeeto do some art exercises and movement in the gallery.

Isthe program limited to people with Alzheimer's that live at home with acaregiver, or are other senior groups included too?

The intent of theprogram and the grant from the Helen Bader Foundation is specifically forpeople who still live at home, with early- to mid-stage memory loss, to come inwith their caregiver. But throughout our current pilot phase, we've beenworking with some residential homes and day-care facilities. So there is a mixof participants. We aren't going to turn anyone away if they are interested.

Howwell do you think the program has been received so far?

It has been great. Thestaff has had so much fun with the participants. We have people coming in thatdon't have any art in their background, but they really seem to enjoy theexperiencewhether they are creating their own art or having a conversationabout art. When we have our hands-on programs at Wustum we are all laughing thewhole time. It is really positive and rejuvenating.

Whatdo you see as the most important part of the SPARK initiative?

I think it's importantto give people the opportunity to have an enriching, creative experiencetogether that they can talk about laterto get these people out into thecommunity, so they aren't sitting at home or in a day-care center all day long.The participants like just being treated like normal adults. I think the wholeexperience is really important for both the caregiver and the care-receiver.

Whatis your favorite part about your work with SPARK?

Hearing people laugh andseeing the pure happiness in their faces. They may not always remember us, butthey remember that they were here, and they remember that they had a positiveexperience. I love spreading the joy of creative aging. It is just a greatprogram.

Formore information about the SPARK program, contact Tricia Blasko at (262)636-9573.