FSU Libraries presents art installation featuring ‘Opening Minds through Art: Building Bridges’

A Florida State University Libraries program, Art in the Library, is partnering with Opening Minds Through Art (OMA) for an exhibition featuring artwork created by older adults living with dementia as part of the OMA program. 

“Opening Minds through Art: Building Bridges” will be on display through August in the Robert Manning Strozier Library, with an opening reception at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, in the Art in the Library gallery on the third floor. 

“OMA’s work brings together both our student and Tallahassee communities and is indeed something to be celebrated. Art in the Library is thrilled to highlight their good work with our program.”

— Leah Sherman, chair of Art in the Library

“The mission of OMA is to build bridges across age and cognitive barriers through art, which Art in the Library aims to celebrate with this exhibition,” said Leah Sherman, chair of Art in the Library. “OMA’s work brings together both our student and Tallahassee communities and is indeed something to be celebrated. Art in the Library is thrilled to highlight their good work with our program.” 

The Claude Pepper Center facilitates artwork created by individuals living with dementia by pairing Florida State University undergraduates with dementia patients at two separate facilities. While patients create art, students serve as mentors and friends rather than collaborators. During their time together, the students and patients build rapport and form close one-on-one relationships. 

Research shows that OMA benefits those living with memory diseases by providing patients with more expressions of pleasure, greater engagement with the world around them, and overall improved well-being.

FSU alumna and former OMA intern Lea Serrano has worked closely with patients and found this opportunity enriching for both herself and her participants. She observes that participants become more comfortable and confident with each passing week, thanks to the support and guidance provided by the program. 

“The entire reason why I joined OMA was to reconnect with this demographic of people, individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia,” she said. “Every session I feel like I am learning something new or just a new way to interact with somebody with dementia in a more effective manner.” 

OMA was developed by gerontologists at the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University.  

The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information, visit https://claudepeppercenter.fsu.edu/opening-minds-through-art/. 

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