Join Art in the City: a vibrant group for those impacted by dementia
On the third Thursday morning of every month, our physically active group, Art in the City, meets for conversation, and a relaxed wander through Edinburgh’s museums, galleries, or heritage spaces. The group explores cultural venues across Edinburgh from major galleries to tucked away places that most people never see, usually with some kind of behind-the-scenes tour from experts.
Our varied programme offers time to reconnect with the part of the mind that enjoys discovery. We look at history, the arts, theatre, and much more. Events are all open invitation, so simply turn up at the following venues on the appropriate dates:
- Thursday 15 January, National Portrait Gallery - 10am – 12noon
- Thursday 19 February, People’s Story Museum - 10.30pm - 12noon
- Thursday 19 March, Museum of Edinburgh - 10.30am - 12noon
This group is for anyone whose life has been touched by dementia. Whether you’re living with dementia yourself, caring for someone who is, have cared for your loved one in the past, or simply want to share an enjoyable, creative experience with others who understand, then this group is for you.
This is the City Art’s Centre’s longest running outreach programme, built on the principle that learning doesn’t stop because life changes shape and that curiosity remains a vital force at any age and continues to nourish the brain.
The group is always evolving and brings together active people living with dementia alongside current carers, former carers and loved ones. There are lots of different forms of dementia, and one in twenty people with dementia is under the age of sixty-five. Many people remain active and independent for a long time after diagnosis and want to keep moving, exploring, and learning for as long as they can.
The programme is shaped by a growing field of research that highlights how the brain benefits from lifelong stimulation and participation. Studies into cognitive resilience and neuroplasticity suggest that activities which combine novelty, learning and varied social interaction can help stimulate the brain’s adaptive processes. A mixed group like ours where people understand dementia from different angles means that conversations stretch across experiences and perspectives. People are gently challenged, enriched, and supported simply by being together in the same space looking at wonderful things and hearing each other’s ideas.
For those with dementia and for their carers who are often family members or close friends, Art in the City offers a change of environment. In this programme both come as companions sharing an experience on equal footing. We also have former carers who have stayed with us, and who find the group is comforting. Caring reshapes a person but so does the end of that role, and with us there’s no pressure to move on. Only the invitation to take part.
Art in the City at its core is a celebration of the mind’s appetite for knowledge. Lifelong learning strengthens relationships, supports well-being, and helps people stay connected to themselves, to others and to find meaning in the world around them.
