Seeing dementia differently

American photographer and sociologist, Cathy Greenblat, will showcase her life affirming images of people living with dementia during a free public lecture at the University of Wollongong today.

Professor Greenblat’s lecture, Arts, Hearts and Minds: Photography, Art and Music in Dementia Care, will discuss the potential of photography to change people’s views of dementia, and the role of photography, music and art in the care of people with the condition. Pictured is a photograph taken by Professor Greenblat.

The lecture is hosted by the NSW/ACT Dementia Training Study Centre, University of Wollongong.

Professor Greenblat’s Australian visit coincides with a national tour of her latest international photographic exhibition, Love, Loss and Laughter, from May to November.

Brought to Australia by Alzheimer’s Australia, the exhibition features more than 100 photos of people living with dementia, including many from Australia.

It aims to broaden the understanding of the condition by challenging the stereotype that people with dementia are ‘lost’ or ‘no longer here’.

The exhibition will be in Sydney at Parliament House from 7 to 27 November.

“My Wollongong lecture will review my photographic work and argue that while visual images can be very powerful learning tools, to date they have either not addressed dementia very much or have addressed it primarily in terms of the losses people experience,” Professor Greenblat says.

“With my photographs I’ve tried to give positive lessons about quality of life, despite memory and related challenges, and use them to help reduce fear and stigma surrounding dementia. While much documentary photography highlights bad practices in the hope of provoking change, I’ve chosen a different route,” she adds.

“I have been showing photographs of life affirming care that contributes to the maintenance of confidence, capacities and communication, and also yields more moments of joy and connection. I am betting that change can be provoked through inspiring examples.”

Professor Greenblat hopes her photographs convey the message that acting more generously and optimistically with people with dementia is worth doing because we can make a real difference in the “trajectory of their disease” and in their quality of life.

“We can enable people who have dementia to fare well, without having to wait for magic bullets or technical fixes,” she says.

Professor Greenblat has a personal connection to dementia with both her maternal grandparents and her mother being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

In 2001, she left her tenured position as Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University, New Jersey, to pursue her dream of taking photographs related to ageing, dementia and end of life care to “open people’s eyes … to help them ‘face’ issues that are generally avoided’’.

Find out more about the Love, Loss and Laughter exhibition.