Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA) at St James’s Hospital is a state-of-the-art facility for integrated clinical services and a hub for world-leading research in ageing. On Friday 28th March, The Creative Life Pillar and the Dementia Services and Information Centre (DSIDC), MISA collaborated by hosting an awareness event exploring dementia through an academic and artistic lens, and also through those with lived experience.
Sarah McCormack, HSE Healthy Ireland Lead, moderator for the morning session, had the privilege of interviewing Sebastian Crutch (UCL Institute of Neurology). They discussed the collaboration between artists, scientists, and people living with dementia, new insights for artists to consider working in this area, and how it has reshaped public perceptions of dementia. They also explored what healthcare professionals learn from working with artists, and how these collaborations are improving care models for people living with dementia. Sarah said:
“It was an inspirational session, with plenty of questions from the audience and great credit to Roisin Nevin, Creative Life Coordinator, MISA-St James’s Hospital, Matthew Gibb, Director of Dementia Services and Information Centre (DSIDC), and Archana Dsouza, Education Coordinator, MISA for organising this event and securing such an inspiring speaker”.