Webinar Recording: Capturing rural lives: Utilizing pictures to share tales of dementia and caregiving

This webinar introduced collectively artist and facilitator Ellie Robinson‑Carter, founding father of The Photobook Project, and cognitive neuroscientist Professor Catherine Loveday to discover how pictures can illuminate the lived expertise of dementia.

The session first heard from Ellie Robinson‑Carter, who shared the story of The Photobook Project. The undertaking invited individuals dwelling with dementia and their wider communities to seize their experiences in significant methods. In response to a selected theme (reminiscent of a season or a significant object), people took images on disposable cameras alongside different artistic actions, together with writing poems, portray flowers, or making cyanotypes. The usually tender and breathtaking outcomes had been used to create a sequence of photobooks. Each assortment was saved on the coronary heart of the taking part group’s neighborhood (for instance, a neighborhood centre), and every particular person was gifted a photobook of their selection.

During the webinar, Ellie mirrored on how The Photobook Project had enabled individuals dwelling with dementia to showcase their experiences of rurality. She shared examples of how the undertaking had sparked and fostered intergenerational connections in relation to position and surroundings, in addition to highlighting the distant engagement alternatives the undertaking introduced.

The webinar then heard from Professor Catherine Loveday, who shared her work on utilizing images to know the experiences of caregivers within the UK, USA, Brazil and South Africa. Participants in every nation had been requested to submit a choice of pictures representing what caring meant to them. These images fashioned the idea of 1‑to‑one interviews with caregivers, exploring the alternative ways they understood and navigated their roles. Interviews had been carried out on-line, generally by a analysis fellow (UK and USA) and generally by an area researcher supported by the central analysis staff (Brazil and South Africa). Catherine mirrored on how this technique facilitated reference to people dwelling in very various environments, usually removed from the analysis staff, in addition to a few of the challenges the analysis staff encountered.

The SPIN‑D Network Plus Rural and Coastal Special Interest Group (SIG) was arrange with help from Empower Network Plus to attach individuals with lived expertise, neighborhood organisations, practitioners and researchers targeted on mind well being, dementia prevention and dementia help in rural, distant, island and coastal communities.

Looking forward

Reflecting on the webinar, Faye Watson mentioned:

“I really enjoyed convening and introducing the first Rurality SIG webinar. It was energising to bring people together and to see the creative ways colleagues are connecting with and involving people in rural areas. The session reaffirmed the value of sharing practice and learning across different rural contexts. ”

Learn extra

SPIN-D Network Plus – be part of the community and mailing record

EMPOWER Network Plus EMPOWER Dementia Network+ | Empowering a meaningful life for all with Dementia

The Photobook undertaking: About – The Photobook Project