Blog post written by Gemma Moore
Meet Gemma Moore, one of our IMAGINED coproduction group members. She is a practising artist with a background in developing creative projects for people living with dementia, a youth trustee and a consultant for Involving Young People Collective. Gemma has written about her experience of being part of the coproduction group on the IMAGINED project (funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council).
I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the IMAGINED project, which stands for Investigating Meaning-making and the cocreation of Guidelines for Evaluation IN participatory Arts for Dementia.
When I first came across the opportunity to be a part of this coproduction group, I was immediately excited because it was an opportunity to explore two ideas that I am really passionate about – dementia and art. I was also intrigued by the connecting factor in these two topics, which is meaning-making.
Ironically, I think meaning-making can be left out of the equation when it comes to dementia and art. This can be frustrating because there can be so much meaning represented through work created by people living with dementia. Within the context of care, I think art can sometimes be perceived as an opportunity to distract people living with dementia for a little while, which is not the sole purpose of art making…. it is so much more! Art can sometimes be seen as just “something to do”, to fill space and time, which is a limited perspective.
I have really enjoyed contributing to the discussions around these ideas. Recently, we talked about what it means to really place an emphasis on value and meaning for people living with dementia and what this might look like. I’ve always been interested in how meaning and value connect in both the making and display of art.
I first encountered these ideas when I was studying both my Bachelor and Master Degrees in Fine Art. I couldn’t help but notice how meaning and value were so intertwined, and how in different contexts they both could be applied. At a later date, I found a way of thinking about this within the context of people living with dementia.
I started to have an interest in meaning-making and people living with dementia when I became part of the coproduction group for the IMAGINED project. It seemed like it was really tapping into these ideas. I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the project; it has been a really great way of exploring these ideas, including beyond the academic context. It’s been nice being part of a project team, being able to give our thoughts, ideas emotions and feelings about research. I’ve also really enjoyed being involved in decision-making in the context of a real-world project. It has been so empowering to be involved at such a deep level, for example we are frequently asked about decisions regarding accessibility and language in various forms.
I have also really enjoyed working with such a wide variety of people with various lived experiences, including people living with dementia, artists and carers from across the UK. I have enjoyed the fact that there have been opportunities to meet in person and most of the meetings are online, which has offered flexibility.
I also really enjoyed being involved in making decisions regarding the creation of accessible participant information sheets and consent forms for the research, including discussing ethical considerations. I found this opportunity particularly helpful for my own research, for example learning more about what dementia-inclusive consent forms could look like for someone living with dementia.
Thank you for such enriching, empowering and interesting opportunity!
You can find out more about the IMAGINED project here.
You can follow Gemma here:
https://gemmamooreart.wordpress.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-moore-625890232
@gmooreart657
