When Words Fail: Journeying alongside dementia through art and metaphor

19 & 26 November 2020 (Thur)
7pm–9pm
Online workshop on Zoom 
Pay as you wish (Register via Eventbrite)

In the wake of the pandemic, many of us are struggling with “not being able to go back” to the normal we once knew. For Persons Living with Dementia (PLD), this is part of a reality that they face every day. How do we move forward in time and space when our personal and collective memories have become fragile and fragmented?

Join art therapists-artists Lee Sze-Chin, Ng Jue Ann and Karen Koh as they introduce the art of life journals (using an origami book format) to capture PLD’s journey of living with dementia. Learn about how this documentation method helps to preserve memories, document the present, and express hopes and wishes for the future. Workshop participants will also get the opportunity to be part of a virtual exhibition in January 2021.

Facilitated by:

Lee Sze-Chin

Lee Sze-Chin is an artist, art educator and art therapist whose art practice focuses on themes revolving around culture and nostalgia. His works often combine the use of video, photography and performance to recreate experiences that question concepts of memory and time.

Karen Koh (Art Therapist, MAAT, AThR)

Deeply-rooted in the disciplines of psychology, art therapy and spirituality, Karen centers her practice with the arts as an essential for holistic personal development and meaning-making of life experiences. With strong belief in the significance of the arts culture within healthcare and social service sectors, she has dedicated time to work with various communities like children and youths-at-risk, older adults
with mental health conditions and caregivers support. In recent years, Karen has been growing her practice as an art therapist-artist in community-based settings of local context.

Ng Jue Ann (Art Therapist, MAAT, AThR)

Jue Ann is a registered art therapist who works with older adults, especially PLD in residential and community settings. She had developed a great interest in working with older adults since her postgraduate training to facilitate them to age with dignity. Over the years, she believes that PLD's vitality and creativity are still intact despite dementia. Through arts, it is a place of hope and compassion for that short window of time for the seniors to immerse in a process that reminds them of their capabilities, not their deficits and what they have lost. It continues to be a privilege to share this journey with PLD and their families.