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Author: Susan Shifrin, PhD

Susan Shifrin, PhD is the founding director of ARTZ Philadelphia. She is an art historian, museum educator and curator, and arts accessibility advocate. She received her PhD in the History of Art from Bryn Mawr College and has worked on the curatorial and education staffs of a number of large and small museums. Her understanding of the arts and humanities as vehicles for human connection is core to her scholarly, curatorial, and service work. Susan’s most recent publications include: “Addressing the Whole Person: The Arts as a Conduit to Community for People Living with Alzheimer’s,” In the Media, Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling, vol. 67, no. 3, September 2013; and “The Museum as a Site of Caring and Regeneration for People Living with Dementia” in Hamish Robertson, ed, The Caring Museum (Museums Etc, 2015). She is currently editing a volume titled The Museum As Experience comprised of essays authored by contributors from around the world (publication forthcoming 2022, ARC Humanities Press).

Agency Restored, Dignity Preserved: Lessons Learned as an Art Historian About Enhancing Quality of Life for People With Dementia

“What started as a narrowly-focused mission to welcome people with dementia … into our museum for the first time evolved into a much broader and more profound project: to reinvent what agency within the museum would look and feel like for visitors living with dementia,” author Susan Shifrin notes in this compelling piece. She details her journey from that experience to founding ARTZ Philadelphia, a program that invites people with dementia to serve as mentors to program participants.