The purpose of the Fellowship is to create the potential for more interventions for people living with dementia and embed practice in our programmes through adopting an action research model which will allow for testing out new ways to develop the Azure model as aforementioned, identify evaluation methodologies that are sensitive to the ‘social model ‘ of engagement that we are adopting and to work in partnership with our medical colleagues in the MISA institute and Trinity College to both grow the number of participants in our programmes and to reflect on its effectiveness and to disseminate the learning through our national and international networks.
The following areas of research are being explored:
Bairbre-Ann Harkin comes to IMMA from Butler Gallery, where she spent six years as Education Curator. She is on the board of Arts & Disability Ireland and facilitates art-looking tours, trainings and workshops for organisations nationally and internationally. She introduces herself here:
“My name is Bairbre-Ann Harkin and I am an art educator with a particular interest in accessible programming. As IMMA’s Art & Ageing Fellow, I look forward to developing IMMA’s programme for people living with dementia and their families and carers. I first learned of dementia-friendly programming during an internship at MoMA New York. When I returned to Ireland, I developed a similar programme for the exhibition Dublin Contemporary 2011. While working as Education Curator for Butler Gallery in Kilkenny, I developed and delivered programmes for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. During this time, we became a founding partner in the European Project, ‘Museums, Art & Alzheimer’s’ and the national ‘Azure Project’, alongside the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Age & Opportunity and IMMA – so I am no stranger to IMMA’s fantastic learning and public engagement team and am excited to work more closely with them over the course of the Fellowship.”