Anti-Memoir: Creating Alternate Nursing Home Narratives Through Zine Making

Abstract

This article explores the role art therapy and collaboration can play in enhancing the day-to-day lives of older adults in nursing homes through zine making. Coauthored by an art therapist and four skilled nursing community members, the article is aimed at expanding the role of collaboration in art therapy practice. The authors explicate the effects of the ongoing program Write for You, in which the creation of “zines” facilitates social action and culture change, a movement away from the medical model in the nursing home environment. As a result of this collaboration, the authors argue that participating in Write for You led to increased connection and creative development in bringing voice to the underestimated and overlooked experiences of nursing home community members.