Re-claiming citizenship through the arts.

Healthcare literature, public discourse, and policy documents continue to represent persons with dementia as "doomed" and "socially dead." This tragedy meta-narrative produces and reproduces misunderstandings about dementia and causes stigma, oppression, and discrimination for persons living with dementia. With few opportunities to challenge the dominant discourse, persons with dementia continue to be denied their citizenship rights. Drawing on the concept of narrative citizenship, we describe a community-based, critical arts-based project where persons with dementia, family members, visual and performance artists, and researchers came together to interrogate the tragedy discourse and construct an alternative narrative of dementia using the arts. Our research demonstrates the power of the arts to create transformative spaces in which to challenge dominant assumptions, foster critical reflection, and envision new possibilities for mutual support, caring, and relating. This alternative narrative supports the reclamation of citizenship for persons living with dementia and fosters the relational citizenship of all.