Special arrangement Van Gogh Village Museum for people with dementia

About a quarter of his output, nine hundred paintings in total, was created by Vincent van Gogh in Nuenen. The renovated and expanded Van Gogh Village Museum tells his story, also to people with dementia. 

The renovated and expanded Van Gogh Village Museum is highly recommended for anyone interested in painting and the history of Nuenen. Well, visiting museums is often difficult for people with dementia, because of the overload of stimuli they get there. 'We found a solution to that,' says Vera Hussaarts, a member of the marketing team and responsible for special projects. 

Custom program

The museum offers people with dementia an adapted program. Vera: "Through living room projects - a form of day care for people with disabilities - or care institutions, we invite people with disabilities and their companions to visit. Not only people with dementia, by the way. Also, for example, people who have had a brain hemorrhage. And the companion can come along for free.'

The museum is fully prepared, Vera said. 'All our guides and catering staff are trained in dealing with people with dementia. We keep the groups small: a maximum of ten people with dementia and their companions. Furthermore, we ensure adequate staffing for the catering and guiding staff. We walk through the museum at our leisure and give an explanation. We can also give a presentation where it looks like the visitor is walking through the village himself, past one of the 24 objects in the village that Vincent once painted. We usually do this on Mondays, when the museum is closed.

Fun

The museum also provides "Painting like Van Gogh" workshops for people with disabilities. Vera: 'With people who used to paint, you sometimes see that they recognize the actions again and enjoy painting. By the way, the program is also fun for the caregivers. They then also have an interesting and relaxing afternoon.'

To the Van Gogh Village Museum

Would you like to visit the Van Gogh Village Museum with someone with a disability for an adapted tour? Or do you work at a care institution and would you like to make use of the special visitor package for people with disabilities? If so, please contact Vera Hussaarts, v.hussaarts@vgvn.nl. 

In the next episode, Karlijn Toll of ZuidZorg talks about how, as a care pathway coordinator, she helps people with care needs through complicated procedures.