“Seen and heard”: The role of sound and moving image to connect people with dementia within, outwards and across generations
Project Summary
All too often people with dementia don’t feel seen or heard and, as Ronald Amanze describes, “people don’t realise the injury that can come from this”. Accessible and enjoyable opportunities to share and magnify people with dementia’s stories and voices is often overlooked as a necessary tool to enrich the wellbeing of people living with dementia.
As pioneered by Deepness Dementia Media, radio and film are integral vehicles for empowering people with dementia, connecting them to their history, culture, environments, sense of self, and others in their community, including those from other generations. Building on Ronald Amanze’s pioneering work in radio and film, our project will explore why these mediums are so important for people with dementia, and why projects which foster self-expression and connection are vital in supporting people living with dementia to live as well as possible.
We will invite 6 people living with dementia and 6 young people based in Brent (London) to explore the power of co-creating audio for a brand new radio show spearheaded by RA on Deepness Dementia Radio, alongside 4 short films which tell their personal stories to be released on our groundbreaking new Youtube Channel: ‘Seen and heard’. The group will document their experience of the project using single-use cameras, creating their own photobook collection in the project’s international archive.
Through focus groups and the Photobook method, we will capture the role radio and film can play in the lives of people with dementia and, in particular, ethnically diverse groups.
Expected Impact
This project will widen the scope of how we can best support people with dementia, from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, to engage in the benefits of media to enrich their wellbeing, connection to others and their environments.
The co-produced peer-reviewed papers will foster a sense of meaningful purpose and pride, as the group feel themselves make a difference to the possibilities for others in similar situations.
The exhibition will showcase what is possible when people with dementia have the right platforms through which to express themselves and connect to others in their communities. The creative outcomes of the exhibition (photobooks, prints, films and sound bites) will be shared online beyond the project.
We will define and showcase a new blueprint of practice for working with people with dementia and young people in exciting relevant ways, challenging assumptions and stereotypes of dementia in wider society.
Priority Areas
- Raising public awareness and addressing stigma and social exclusion
- Supporting families, friends, and unpaid carers
- Inclusive uses of technology (e.g., digital tools, online platforms, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence)
Partners and Collaborators
- Ashford Place, Brent (London)
- Kiln Theatre, Brent (London)
- Deepness Dementia Radio
Project Team
- Ronald (Amanze) Ferguson
- RVF Academy: Romael Ferguson
- The Photobook Project / University of Hull: Ellie Robinson-Carter