Hand i Pockets

Hand i Pockets Banner: created by participants in the funshop at the Powerhouse Museum Mini Maker Faire

Hand i Pockets Funshop started as a community based research project, a collaboration between Dr Gail Kenning, University of Technology Sydney and Professor Cathy Treadaway, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Wales. The first funshop was held at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney as part of Sydney Design week. The collaborative design project explored how material practices can can be used to engage people around issues such as dementia while finding creative ways to design objects and activities to comfort those impacted by ageing and dementia. Carers, family and friends and health care professionals and the general public were involved in a creative making activity while sharing their experiences of dementia, or finding out more from the Alzheimer’s counsellor on hand. Importantly the aim of the research was to understand responses of the general public to dementia, engage them in the development of objects or activities, and find sustainable, replicable design processes that could be used by non-creative professionals to create personal objects and activities for individuals. The focus for this project was on the lack of activities for people with dementia outside of organised activities and when alone or with friends, family, health care professionals or other residents in care centres. Participants will be encouraged to use their own experience of ‘in the moment’ fun and joy to design objects or activities for an older person, or draw on their own experiences of person with dementia.