SPARKing Connection

Meet Me at the MoMA, a program developed for patrons with dementia by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York, has influenced museums both nationally and internationally. None have had such expansive and wide-ranging success, both in terms of geographic area and diversity of organizations, as SPARK!

SPARK! Ignites

With the mission of making Wisconsin a leader in addressing challenges posed by Alzheimer’s, the Helen Bader Foundation (now Bader Philanthropies Inc.) sent out a request for proposals to every museum in Wisconsin. Taking cues from Meet Me at the MoMA, the Foundation aimed to bring similar opportunities to their home state. 

The five initial grantees (the Milwaukee Public Museum, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Racine Art Museum, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum and the Museum of Wisconsin Art) went to the MoMA to observe, participate and learn. After the intensive training, the organizations returned home to adapt the programming not only to their institutions, but to their towns and their state. “How do you take the MoMA program and do it in a natural history museum?” questioned Dawn Koceja of the Milwaukee Public Museum. “It’s all about creative engagement.”

SPARK! now spans over 22 institutions and museums across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, and Tennessee, ranging from art museums to natural history centers to botanical gardens. Each organization has adapted the program, shaping a framework based on engagement-focused activities into a unique offering. “SPARK! naturally has to be tailored to each institution’s mission and educational purpose,” explains Tricia Blasko, Curator of Education at the Racine Art Museum. “As we evolved our programs, exploring ways to work with the senses and using verbal and written word stimulants has become integral in each program. Each program is designed to include a variety of sensory stimulants that help trigger a myriad of responses.” Depending on the institution, these creative and sensory experiences include writing, hands-on art making, ballroom dancing, nature walks and so many other possibilities. 

“It’s an achievable task to implement something that is specific to your site. While what we do is very different, the basic structures are very similar,” encourages Tom Finley of Schlitz Audubon Nature Center. “There really shouldn’t be any limits on what you may or may not think is appropriate for your setting. What do you have that is unique and how do you make that accessible to this audience? How do we improve this experience for all people?” 

“Our goal is to keep the attendees in the present moment,” Koceja shares of the engagement activities. “The name SPARK! comes from sparking a moment between care partners, where the two are engaged in creativity and company.”

Young woman and older man planting terrariums together

The SPARK! Alliance: Community Connections

In 2009, the founding 10 grantees established the SPARK! Alliance, a forward-thinking program of collaboration and cross-connected policies to help support new and existing organizations in implementing engagement programming accessible to those living with memory loss. The shared experience and expertise within the Alliance is critical to institutional and programmatic problem solving. Through the Alliance, organizations share infrastructure, tools and resources. 

A key piece of the collaboration is a solid onboarding process. The SPARK! Alliance has guidelines for on-boarding new institutions, including a new institution agreement form, a training manual, and a mentor/mentee opportunity. “We have set up a network of peers to make sure that each new program feels supported and can develop quality programs that align with the SPARK! intention and mission,” states Blasko.

Each Alliance organization also gets paired with a local branch of the Alzheimer’s Association, which then conducts company-wide, staff and volunteer trainings. These trainings create institutional buy-in, allowing everyone from frontline staff to curators to take ownership of their role in the program. In addition to training and knowledge access, the partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association chapters allow for expanded and targeted promotion and marketing efforts, growing the museum’s reach and base.

Two women preparing food while two other women sit and watch

In 2014, the SPARK! Alliance committed to hosting an annual conference, demonstrating the group’s commitment to strengthening and multiplying programs across institutions. “When we began hosting the conference, the Alliance started to formulate various committees focusing on retention, training, quality control, promotion and marketing, finance and grants,” shares Tricia Blasko. “The benefits are endless. We all feel that we get a lot out of our relationship and the ability to collaborate and potential for expansion is great. 

Although cultural institutions have made great strides in improving access, they historically have had less accessibility themselves to data and research in the field of health sciences. This discrepancy can make it difficult to make informed programming decisions. The community collaboration between the SPARK! Alliance, the Alzheimer’s Association and other organizations such as the Aging and Disability Resource Center, bridges that gap. “The SPARK! Alliance keeps us [as museums] at the forefront of research and information in this field,” adds Finley. 

Impacts Beyond Programming

The Alliance has seen the impact of the SPARK! program permeate throughout the organizations, resulting in increased forward-thinking and accessible programs. The Milwaukee Public Museum now instills each patron experience with the principles of universal design. “Our physical accessibility is variable,” says Finley, speaking about the trail system at the Nature Center. “Schlitz has worked diligently to dramatically increase our accessibility, with beautiful wooden or paved pathways, so much more than we ever had before.”

SPARK! opened the door to accessibility for Dawn Koceja. “After two or three years of doing this programming, all of these opportunities to increase access started to present themselves to us,” she says of an increased institutional awareness. Koceja started SPARK! as the Early Childhood Coordinator at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Upon realizing the opportunity for improvement, she rallied for the creation of an accessibility-centric position and became the Multigenerational Programs and Accessibility Coordinator. Her drive and devotion to the SPARK! Alliance and increasing accessibility earned her a 2017 Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability Award. “Now, whenever there’s a new exhibit, I get to see the floor plans, the lighting, the labels. The whole philosophy of this organization has changed tremendously.”

 “Make community collaborations, a true collaboration, really create something together. Sharing resources is so importance,” she says, a simple summary of the SPARK! Alliance. 

A group of senior citizens listening to a music performance in an art gallery

For more information on bringing SPARK! to your organization, visit www.sparkprograms.org or contact Dawn Koceja at [email protected].
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