Case Study: How can museums make art meaningful for people living with dementia?

What is this case study about?

How can museums make art meaningful for people living with dementia? The Museum of Chelmsford set out to answer this question by rethinking its approach to interpretation and accessibility. Dementia can make traditional museum visits challenging — unfamiliar spaces, complex signage, and conventional interpretation often create barriers.

This project aimed to break those barriers by embedding lived experience into the heart of the museum’s storytelling.

What are the keys points?

What did they do?

The museum began by working towards dementia-friendly accreditation, a process that provided a clear framework for improving accessibility. This involved: 

• Making museum spaces calmer and easier to navigate. 
• Providing clear pre-visit information online so visitors could plan ahead. 
• Training staff in dementia awareness to build confidence and empathy. 
• Hosting informal introductions with participants before workshops to understand their individual needs and manage expectations 
• Inviting participants and their companions to allow safe and meaningful engagement 
• Ensuring they provided refreshments and lunch for workshops 

These practical steps were essential, but the most transformative element was co-creation, which involved inviting people living with dementia to shape the interpretation of a new exhibition. 

Co-creation in action

The Museum of Chelmsford partnered with local dementia advocacy groups to recruit participants for the exhibition project. Instead of curators writing all the interpretations, participants were invited to share their own reflections on artworks during facilitated sessions.

These sessions were designed to be supportive and inclusive, allowing time for conversation and creativity. Their team met individually with each participant before the workshops over a cup of tea to explain how the workshops would work and to better understand their individual needs. These meetings also allowed them to manage expectations and complete some pre-evaluation for internal use.

Following advice from their project partner, The Alzheimer’s Society, workshops were shaped to allow the participation of both people living with dementia and their companions, rather than each group in isolation. They also provided light refreshments during the session.

The museum’s volunteers and staff all received training from the Alzheimer’s Society.

Contributions were captured in various forms such as spoken words, written notes, and creative responses. These were then integrated into the exhibition’s interpretation panels. Traditional curatorial text was replaced or complemented by authentic voices, giving visitors insight into how people living with dementia experience and interpret art. Participants also democratically selected the forty images that featured in the exhibit.

The resulting exhibition interpretation focused on a “Slow looking approach” to exploring artworks. This approach was also used in the workshops and involves:

• Encourages visitors to first look at the painting without any interpretation. Sand timers were placed alongside the art to encourage you to look closely for 2 minutes.
• Then, to engage with relevant interpretation panels available at various points in the exhibition.
• Further mirroring the workshops, visitors were finally invited to share their thoughts on a wonder wall created with the support of a local artist.

The result was an exhibition that challenged stereotypes around ageing and memory. The museum created a space where visitors could engage with art through a lens of lived experience.

Exhibition interpretation focused on a slow looking approach to exploring artworks, encouraging visitors to look at the painting first with a “see, think, wonder” approach — which is a strategy the Museum of Chelmsford used to lead the conversations during their co-creation workshops. They further developed the approach into the exhibition by foregoing interpretation panels on the walls next to the pictures, including sand timers alongside artwork to encourage you to look closely for two minutes, and smaller panels where you could find information about the pictures were available at various points in the exhibition.

Why co-creation matters?

Co-creation is more than consultation. It gives participants agency in shaping cultural narratives and ensures that interpretation reflects real voices rather than assumptions.

For the Museum of Chelmsford, this approach:

• Built stronger relationships with local communities
• Created interpretation that felt personal and meaningful
• Demonstrated that inclusion is not an add-on but a core part of heritage practice
• Allowed workshop participants to democratically select the 40-pieces of artwork displayed in the exhibition

Impact

The project achieved dementia-friendly accreditation, signalling a formal commitment to accessibility and inclusion. The exhibition interpreting art through the voices of people living with dementia provides a powerful example of how museums can go beyond physical adjustments to create experiences rooted in empathy and representation.

A visitor to the exhibition shared:

Conclusion

The Museum of Chelmsford’s work was part of a wider commitment to inclusion. It recognised that accessibility is not just about physical changes but about creating spaces and experiences that feel welcoming, relevant, and empowering.

By achieving dementia-friendly accreditation and co-creating interpretation with people living with dementia, they have demonstrated how heritage can foster empathy and belonging.