Art for Brain Health Project Offers Hope for Nigerians

In commemoration of the World Alzheimer’s Day, Kunle Adewale’s new project named ‘Arts for Brain Health’ is set to deploy artistic creativity to improve social engagement opportunities for persons living with dementia. Yinka Olatunbosun writes

From 1995 to 2015, the number of dementia cases in Nigeria is estimated to have increased by over 400 per cent, according to experts. In many homes, the early signs are often ignored or simply dismissed as part of the aging process.

But in reality, dementia-the umbrella name for chronic conditions of the brain- is characterised by deteriorating cognitive function. Caused by damaged brain cells, the most noticeable sign is memory loss.

Dementia often affects general thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, language and judgement. Older people with cognitive impairment in Nigeria frequently experience neglect and abuse, and suffer from loneliness, depression, and stigma.

These, combined with an absence of effective pharmacological treatments worldwide, necessitate psychosocial interventions to alleviate the effects of dementia and enhance quality of life.

While art cannot cure dementia, it provides a coping mechanism for the patients. Arts-based interventions have proven to be effective in reducing adverse psychological and psychosocial outcomes. This is where Arts for Brain Health Project comes in.

The project which has as its artistic director, the Nigerian social entrepreneur and visual artist, Kunle Adewale aims to utilise artistic creativity to improve social engagement opportunities for people living with dementia, ultimately transforming the healthcare experiences of patients, professional caregivers, and family members, with long-term ambitions to reduce stigma and to promote whole-person approaches to the treatment.

The project will benefit 20 health providers and 60 persons with cognitive impairments and dementia in Nigeria. Participants in the project would be recruited through partnership with the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Yaba, Lagos, GABI Williams Alzheimer’s Foundation, Arts in Medicine Fellowship.

According to Adewale, participants will choose either the Fine Arts or Performance Arts Track. Each will be comprised of a two-hour weekly session. The artists will collaborate with the professional caregivers to help them learn how to engage with the patients using an art form.

For the Fine Arts Track, participants will be engaged in arts and crafts, mural making and in digital painting through the use of iPads. Participants’ sessions will be facilitated by junior artists who will serve as project assistants and who are skilled in the use of each medium.

Music and dance will be included in the Performing Arts Track with young community of musicians.

“We will also explore the impact of music on an individual level through the use of iPods. Project staff will aide in creating playlists of favorite songs on the iPods for each participant,’’ Adewale revealed.

The project also includes the virtual reality arts as an observational form of arts engagement. The VR experience will be curated to include works of art, photographs of nature, and photographs of beautiful places in Nigeria, providing participants with a therapeutic experience that is culturally relevant.

Adewale is an arts health practitioner and advocate with over seven years’ experience facilitating art engagements for different populations in Nigeria, including persons living with dementia and cognitive impairments.

In February 2020, Adewale partnered with the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California and Northern Nevada (NCNN) to facilitate therapeutic Virtual Art for Seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Adewale leads Pop-Up Arts sessions, an initiative of the UCSF Memory and Aging Center for community brain health in San Francisco.

A senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, University of California, San Francisco, the

artist led a 3D-Virtual Art Exhibition titled “Uplifting Spirits” that explored how art can change the perceptions and understanding of aging in a way that complements scientific investigations. This event showcased and sold his work to raise money for NCNN.

Through the support of Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Society, and the Global Brain Health Institute for the Arts for Brain Health, the artist will help to broaden the area of arts interventions with older adults, especially for those living with dementia or other cognitive impairments, while solidifying existing relationships with nursing homes and non-profit organizations in Nigeria.