Making culture accessible to all: Prague’s Jewish Museum opens concerts to people with dementia

After nearly two years of successfully organizing sensory concerts for children with special needs, Prague’s Jewish Museum is now expanding its program to include concerts designed specifically for people with dementia. It is the first Czech institution to offer a cultural experience tailored to the needs of this target group.

Music is known to be an amazing therapeutic tool and Prague’s Jewish Museum is on a quest to make it accessible to those who need it most. Two years ago, it started organizing sensory concerts for children with special needs –filling a gap in what is offered by Czech cultural institutions.

Maisel Synagogue|Photo: VitVit, Wikimedia Commons

At conventional events, individuals with special needs and their families often encounter stress and other obstacles that prevent them from fully engaging in the experience. Prague’s Jewish Museum offers music as therapy in a space where these visitors can feel truly at ease.

This Monday, it held the first of a series of concerts in the Maisel Synagogue for people with serious brain conditions and for their caregivers. Such concerts have been highly successful in other countries.

According to the UK Alzheimer's Society, music has the power to stir memories and evoke emotions – even after the loss of normal communication abilities. It helps ease restlessness and anxiety, and can encourage unresponsive or apathetic individuals to move or remember the words to songs from their younger years. This process not only brings joy but also gives caregivers valuable insights into the personalities of the people in their care.

The space in the synagogue is adapted so that there are various zones, dimmed-lights, fewer people, and absolutely everything is allowed, so that people with a handicap can feel comfortable there.

Zuzana Pavlovská|Photo: Jan Šteffl

Zuzana Pavlovská, organizer of the sensory concerts and head of the Department of Education and Culture at the Jewish Museum in Prague, explains in what way these concerts differ.

“If someone wants to move around during the concert, sit on a beanbag, on a cushion, or draw while they listen, that is ok. Whatever makes them feel comfortable.  At the same time, we offer a top quality music experience – we engage ensembles such as the Bořkovec Quartet, the Krása Quartet, and other leading musicians.”

The Jewish Museum organizes the concerts in cooperation with the Czech Alzheimer Society which is extremely helpful in making suggestions and pointing out the various needs that should be met. Zuzana Pavlovská says the events are carefully planned.

“The cooperation with the Czech Alzheimer Society is also great in that it helps us reach clients, as it has much more experience with them than we do. The concert itself is preceded by a visit to the space, so that a person can first look around, know where they are going, and so that we can create a safe environment. Only then do they attend the concert.”

The inspiration for these concerts came from neighbouring Poland – specifically from the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, which organizes cultural events boosting inclusion. Prague’s Jewish Museum says they have proved highly rewarding and the interest is already greater than they are able to meet.