Organized by Museum Picasso Malaga, the Art Laboratory for Memory Loss addressed people who work within the cultural sector and museums, in cultural and social management, are experts in cooperation development, social agents, and people affected by the process of cognitive deterioration, their caregivers and families. During the morning and afternoon sessions, focused on Art and Memory, professionals within the cultural sector offered participants tools which they could apply in their respective professional fields.
With the participation of Halldóra Arnardóttir, with title Art, Science and Alzheimer, she started her session with a greeting, and a physical and emotional warm-up. In continuation, she explained the project „Art and Culture as Therapy“ put into practice at the Demencia Unit at the Virgen de la Arrixaca Hospital in Murcia, and drew out the main aims and conclusions in relation to factors such as emotions, quality of life and social communication. This was an interactive talk and aimed to find elements that showed why and how the arts could help the scientific investigation and be part of a non-pharmacological treatment for Alzheimer. What were the tools that arts could offer the investigation?
The second part of the session focused on practical cases inside the exhibition Calder-Picasso, evocing emotions and stimulating dialogues about preselected works. For example, the conversation about "Woman seated in a Red Armchair" started with "how is she sitting?" and finished with "a woman embracing a baby, a mother".
