Featured Artists & Arts Organizations

For Nerreter, art has been her way to connect with others, especially those who can at times, be overlooked in our society.

The libretto from Shadow and Light: An Alzheimer’s Journey in 16 Movements – an epic choral-orchestral work on the subject of Alzheimer’s – is at times comical, inspiring, and heartbreaking.

Karla Wilson, a board certified Music Therapist, brings music therapy into the homes of clients all over. While she works with a range of clients, Karla has a passion for working with those living with dementia and at end of life.

An artist and dementia care professional, Lola Fraknoi uses art to portray her own journey as a dementia care partner as well as inspire individuals living with dementia. Inspired by her art career and her experience with her mother’s dementia, Lola created Lola’s ArtKit™. Lola’s ArtKit™ aims to bring out creativity in people living with dementia, while offering needed respite for carepartners.

Josh Dorman, painter and mixed media artist, had his first exposure to dementia in 2007 when he collaborated with the Memory Bridge Foundation to travel to a Chicago nursing home to create the six large “portraits” of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.

The paintings of Utermohlen provide a unique window into the mind of a person living with Alzheimer’s disease, while dually providing an outlet for Utermohlen in the later stages of his life.

Tiffany Ramirez yearned to put her passion and knowledge of the arts towards making a difference in the lives of others – so in 2014, she founded the nonprofit organization Artisan Mind. Her goal was to bring art programs to individuals with memory loss who may be limited in their access to creative and culturally based programs.

‘Everybody has music in them,’ says Judith-Kate Friedman, founder of Songwriting Works™ Works and the Songwriting Works™ Educational Foundation, a truly unique and inspirational program where people with dementia of all types work together in groups to compose original songs and then sing them together.

Donna Newman-Bluestein is a dance therapist and founder of Dance for Connection. She is an expert in facilitating a comfortable environment for expression, especially for those living with dementia.

Caring for someone living with dementia is a dance, a journey of ups and downs – with both the individual living with the diagnosis and their care partner playing a unique role. This emotional journey of a dance is what Tara Lee sought to portray in her ballet turned film, “The Poet”.

Dupee feels that broadening portrayals of dementia within various forms can break down some of these misconceptions and help people face their fears. The message that Dupee wants readers to take away is that despite dementia being a heavy topic – when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable – we can find ourselves, hopefulness, and meaningful connections.

Alex Winstanley is the co-founder of a non-profit organization Happy Smiles Training which focuses on providing disability and social inclusion training to businesses and organizations. He began this work after his own career as a care partner for a young adult living with a disability.

Erica is an art therapist based out of Boston, Massachusetts. Her primary clientele is individuals living with dementia both in residential communities and within their homes.

Scotty Perry is a photojournalist and documentary photographer based in Louisville, KY. and the author of HERE, his photographic journey as a dementia caregiver for his Mamaw and Papaw in Louisville, Ky. in 2018.