Making a living moment more resonant: an exploration of the role of the artist in co-creative work with people living with dementia.

Background: Despite a growth in interest in recent years in the benefits of working co-creatively with the Arts for people living with dementia, little attention has been given to understanding the role of the professional artists within this context. Our main question here is 'How do professional artists apply their skills and knowledge in co-creative arts groups with people with dementia?' This paper has been informed by the insights gained from a series of conversations, observations and journals that were kept by four UK based artists (two musicians and two dancers) who reflexively interrogated what they were doing during the course of an 8-week co-creative arts project with people living with dementia.

Methods: The research used an empirical case study methodology, with the authors adopting a thematic approach to the analysis of the data.