Arts for Dementia and the NHS’s Camden Memory Service commissioned us to run three screen printing workshops at their practice on Camden Mews. The goal was to create permanent artwork for the Services for Ageing and Mental Health Centre on Brewery Road in Camden.
Our three-week program followed an initial workshop led by Ian Sherriff, which gathered suggestions from people living with dementia who attend the NHS practice on Camden Mews. They contributed ideas for popular landmarks in the Camden and Islington area. Engage Here then collected imagery of these landmarks and brought them to the first week of our printmaking workshops. We initially used the images to spark discussion and memory sharing, before each person chose a landmark to create a stencil from a specialist paper called Tyvek. We were eager to ensure every participant had a chance to screen print in the first week, so the stencils were straightforward and directly inspired by shapes from the landmarks.
Almost none of the participants had previous screen printing experience, so we set up the printing bed in a location where everyone could observe, even if they weren't actively printing. Each person had a partner to assist them, fostering a strong sense of teamwork. Although we began by printing with only one color, the participants were introduced to the radical screen printer Sister Corita Kent. This provided them with a sense of how multiple colors could be incorporated into the process.
“
It’s been different, this is the first work I have created since my diagnosis of dementia.”
Participant
Week 2 saw more participants join us. This presented a perfect opportunity to revisit the entire process from start to finish, as many participants had experienced memory loss due to dementia. Some participants began to experiment more freely with their stencils, creating imagery inspired by the landmarks but not directly replicating their shapes. This involved zooming into the images to make the stencils more abstract or surreal. We also engaged in more extensive conversations about Islington and Camden, discussing people's favorite local pubs and parks. Everyone particularly enjoyed discussing the monument to Dick Whittington's cat in Archway.
By the final week, the group had grown much more confident with the process, despite the challenges posed by dementia. Participants were becoming more adept with color and utilizing different methods to block out sections of their screens, allowing previously printed layers to show through. We brought in many more screens to encourage experimentation. We concluded by discussing where the prints would be displayed and envisioned how the white walls would be transformed into a vibrant display of color.
The exhibition will be on permanent display at the Services for Ageing and Mental Health Centre on Brewery Road from the 20 October.
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