Murals brightening up dementia care centre
Colourful murals are brightening up the walls of a Western Australia dementia care centre. Volunteer artist Jane Dacruz is creating the murals for residents at Amana Living Kinross.
Volunteer artist Jane Dacruz painting the first of 3 murals at a dementia care centre in Kinross.
The project was prompted by the renaming of three of the care centre’s four houses as Kookaburra House, Beach House and Frangipani House.
The centre’s enrichment team put out a call for a volunteer to paint themed murals on feature walls in each house, and Ms Dacruz saw this as a chance to give back to the community.
Ms Dacruz is a part-time artist who usually paints landscapes and seascapes on canvas and board.
Painting directly onto a wall presented a new challenge for her, as did the ‘kookaburra’ and ‘frangipani’ themes.
She rose to the challenge and worked with the staff to find sample imagery and colours to suit each house before starting work a few weeks ago.
When she was creating the ‘frangipani’ mural (pictured here), Jane said the residents, who live with dementia, didn’t take much interest until she began to add the bright colours. Then they started visiting her and chatting about the painting as it progressed.
“This project not only exemplifies the generosity of volunteers, but also the value they add to our resident’s lives,” says Amana Living chief executive officer Ray Glickman.
“We have around 200 people volunteering in Amana Living care centres, from students to retired people. It’s a win-win situation, because our volunteers get a great deal out of the experience, and our residents’ lives are enriched by their involvement.”
The three Kinross murals and new names will be launched on 26 May.
