Story by Ellie Song

Staff Writer

Photo by Caitlin Reller & Christine Ferri

Contributor

South Pasadena moms of SPHS sophomores, Caitlin Reller and Christine Ferri, started their non-profit organization called Memory Arts, for short, MA. Their first session was in April of 2026, in a memory care facility workshop in Altadena. MA provides a safe space for individuals with dementia and their caretakers. During their workshops, Reller and Ferri provide art materials and daily lessons on an artist or a type of style of art. 

“Memory Arts, or MA, is an artistic concept that refers to the space around objects, the silence between notes, [or] an openness that allows room for possibility. We embrace this idea as a poetic reframe of the possibilities for connecting and finding meaning, even when memory is limited,” Reller said.

Ferri and Reller created this business due to the abundant amount of individuals who age into memory loss, and are neglected due to their health issues. Together, the two of them realized that MA was a space to offer workshops for people who have dementia, which is really needed in our society.

“[MA] was an opportunity to look at dementia, and the potential of somebody who has a brain disease in a different way, by working with them through art,” Ferri said.

Reller and Ferri explain how they want caretakers who come to the program, whether it be with their patient or by themselves, to be able to connect with each other and with other caretakers. 

“I just find art to be fun [and] exciting,” Reller said, “I like the art making process. There are no rules, you can experiment and just play. That’s what I like about seniors too, is that when they’re making a painting, it doesn’t have to look like a photorealistic painting. You can have work from a three year old [painting], and a 99 year old, and everybody can have a wonderful experience.”

Before Memory Arts was ever in the process of making, Reller began a smaller workshop, called Small Hands Workshop in Brooklyn, New York, which was a low cost and donation-based community art program for stay-at-home parents and their young children.

“Basically, [Small Hands Workshop] had that same model, but instead of stay-at-home parents and young children, it’s now caregivers and aging adults. We want this to be free or very low cost. We really just want to create workshops that offer a place for people to connect with each other and be present.”

Later on, Reller worked at the Laguna Art Museum. There, Reller started developing a program for people with dementia, but was never able to have her first workshop, due to COVID 19. A visitor from Alzheimer’s Orange County came in and did some workshops. It was through these workshops and training that Reller had learned about people with Alzheimer’s and the disease itself.

“There’s so many people who age into this place sadly, and they’re really neglected,” Reller said, “I think realizing that there’s this space for offering workshops for people that have dementia and Alzheimer’s,  [is] really exciting. It made me realize [that] there’s a space unfulfilled, but there’s really a need there.” 

Ferri is a clinical psychologist, who specializes in rheumatology, working especially with older adults. She has been working as a psychologist for a long time, and eventually wanted to really connect with people with dementia. 

When finalizing their business, the two moms questioned what their business would be called. 

“We’d have the text right back and forth,” said Ferri, “We were all over the place, and then finally, that’s when we thought of MA.” 

Not only did this name make sense, but it had a connection between the two moms and their customers. 

“[MA] is definitely a loving word, in the sense that your mom would love you even if you had dementia. There’s just so much loss of connection,” Ferri said.

MA hopes that they are able to reach an abundant amount of people, especially to those who are isolated at home and aren’t willing to move to a memory care facility. Memory Art’s first two workshops will be in October 2026 at the Pasadena Public Library. They also want caretakers who have come to the program to be able to connect with one another, because they’re also isolated, and possibly feeling overwhelmed. 

“So much of caregiving is work, and so much of dementia is the disease. The quality or the accuracy [of their art] really isn’t the point. It’s that something didn’t exist and now it does, and that two people did that together,” Ferri said.