Merging Art and HDFS

In July 2022, the new Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Research Center (ADRD) opened at Utah State University. To commemorate the opening, ADRD Director and HDFS Professor Beth Fauth wanted to create art that could be used in the new center offices (EDUC 413).  She identified Maria Ellen Heubner, a documentary photographer living in Cache Valley, to capture photos of people with dementia, and their caregivers.  Once the pictures started coming in, Maria and Beth knew that these had to be shared with the public, and they created an exhibit for the Lyndsley Wilkerson gallery (first floor of USU’s Sorenson Center for Clinical Excellence). The exhibit ran for the month of October.

Even though the exhibit has ended, the experience is worth sharing.  Using art and narratives highlight and inform the applied sciences, specifically research and services in the field of Human Development and Family Studies.  Images help us remember that Alzheimer’s research is not done only on behalf of people, but with people who are living with this disease. Photos and narratives of these families remind us that individuals are more than their symptoms or their diagnosis.  Maria’s documentary approach captures people as life unfolds naturally, allowing people -- even those with cognitive impairment -- to still tell a story.