The Museu Picasso has participated in the ArtGran project, an intervention to work on active aging, reduce unwanted loneliness and improve the quality of life of the elderly in Barcelona, through art workshops held in museums and cultural centres in the city.
The ArtGran project, promoted by the Barcelona Public Health Agency (ASPB), began in 2019 with the participation of six cultural centres, MACBA, CCCB, the Recinte Modernista Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Caixa Forum, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya and the Museu Picasso, and after the Covid lockdown, it was implemented throughout 2022. Due to the good results in 2024, a second edition of the project will be launched.
The cultural institutions participating in the project have worked together to define and agree on general guidelines and to ensure that significant changes occur for the people involved.
Each entity has hosted a group of people from the same neighbourhood of Barcelona, in the case of the Museu Picasso, from the neighbourhoods of Porta and Prosperitat, with whom 10 sessions have been held.
The museum has been working with the elderly community for some time now through various initiatives, such as the Memory Workshop, the Museums get Close to you, the Museums Are Waiting for You and With or Without Sugar. Participating with ArtGran would allow us to put into practice the experience we have acquired and evaluate it.
In these sessions, where the collection has been the common thread, discovering and getting to know Picasso's work has allowed them to connect with them, be active, continue learning, and generate bonds.
The results validate how the museum is a generator of new experiences that can be inspiring and meaningful, allowing people to escape from their daily surroundings, fostering a sense of community and even the opportunity to develop and discover new skills. The participating elderly people improve in happiness and ability to carry out daily activities, and the feeling of loneliness is reduced compared to those who have not participated.
I want more information
If you want to know more about the project, the results of the studies, and the participants' assessments, you can consult it at the Catalan Health Agency: https://www.aspb.cat/documents/artgran/
