A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet a lovely family with a member that is in the later stages of dementia. In collaboration with Silverline Memories>, the Charity that provides “places to go and things to do” for people living with Dementia in Newcastle & Gateshead, James, myself and our driver accompanied the family on a tour at the Seahouses (a village north on the Northumberland coast). Throughout the day, I was helping James to capture the family's experiences through photographs, audio and 360-degree videos. The initiative was part of James master’s project that focuses on designing for enriching lived experience for people with dementia and improving social contact with community members through the design of personalised interactive media experiences. James Hodge published his work Exploring the Design of Tailored Virtual Reality Experiences for People with Dementia. During our tour at the Seahouses, we visited Grace Darling's museum to find out about the life of a brave woman who rescued 9 people from the sea in 1838. Through her personal objects and a stunning model of the lighthouse we were transported in time and learned about the local history. Throughout the day, John struggled to communicate verbally but he was playful with his two daughters and on our way back to Newcastle, he told his wife how much he loved her. At that moment I realised he was enjoying his time with us.
posted by Nantia in Aug 2018
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