National Museum of Singapore opens Reunion space for seniors with dementia and the wider community
Published on
16 Apr 2023
Published by
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE – Preparedness is knowing what to do when an elderly man wanders into the loading bay at the Esplanade.
At the time of the incident in December 2021, security staff immediately realised the man displayed signs of dementia, and acted accordingly.
The National Museum of Singapore (NMS) has taken accessibility and inclusivity to the next level by designating an entire space for seniors with dementia and cognitive disabilities.
Named Reunion, the space opened last Tuesday, and is dedicated to reconnecting with the past while building connections in the present.
As the population ages, the need for dementia-friendly spaces has become increasingly clear. HealthHub states that one in 10 seniors over the age of 60 have dementia, with a projected 152,000 diagnoses by 2030.
Ms Foo Min Li, 36, assistant director of programmes at NMS, says this is the first time it has built a dedicated space for seniors. “We’ve been holding programmes for them, but we wanted this dedicated space because we saw the need for a place to host our seniors without competing with other programmes.”
Located on Level 1, Reunion has access points through the museum hallways and a wheelchair ramp outside.
Inside, visitors can use the Quiet Room when they feel overstimulated, relax in music booths that play songs from the 1960s and 1970s, use the activity area for organised programmes, and spend time in an immersive project cave that allows seniors with dementia to recreate spaces they recognise from childhood.
Ms Foo says: “We will have museum-led programmes and events conducted by our partners. They are meant to provide connection, stimulation, engagement, physical activities and build seniors’ confidence to explore the museum.
“We hope these programmes can serve as non-medical intervention to support seniors with dementia or cognitive disabilities, and those without.”
For food, the space has a connecting door to Cafe Brera, which employs senior citizens as part of its community outreach.
NMS has also worked with GentleFoods, a local company that creates pureed or blended foods for people with swallowing difficulties, to provide meals in the cafe space.
Cutlery and dishes in Cafe Brera are also senior-friendly, as they are lightweight, colourful and sturdy.
Reunion was first proposed by the Lien Foundation, a local philanthropic foundation aimed at inspiring social change, after a 2018 trip to Germany where it visited the Lehmbruck Museum.
Lien Foundation chief executive Lee Poh Wah, 53, says: “They are pioneers in using the arts to engage persons with dementia. In 2018, they were already doing regular tours and closing studios to invite persons with dementia with their caregivers to create art.
“We were inspired by what we saw, so we approached NMS to explore the concept. It took up the gauntlet with gusto.”
Originally slated for 2020, Reunion’s opening was delayed by the pandemic. However, the extra time allowed NMS, Lien Foundation and local architectural design firm RSP to work through more details.
RSP’s assistant director Mark Wong says: “We have experience in designing nursing homes, but this was very different for us because it’s a public museum space. We spent a lot of time doing research to learn what the latest design thinking was for persons with dementia.”
The 42-year-old adds: “We also depended on engagement from the stakeholders, because we don’t typically get immediate feedback.”
NMS’ Ms Foo says: “We started off with focus group discussions to establish the needs before moving into experience design where we brought in stakeholders from healthcare and social care, as well as persons with and without dementia. From there, we created a set of experience principles that guided the design of the space and programme.”
The resulting space is filled with pastel colours and light textures, evocative of old Singapore shop-houses.
RSP executive interior designer Pauline Khoo, 34, says: “We keep the design space quite modern in contrast to its neoclassical roots. It’s not just for the elderly. It’s quite soothing when you enter the space, as it gives off that familiar feeling of home.”
Lighter contrasting colours also help with depth perception, something seniors with dementia and cognitive disabilities may struggle with.
The Reunion space is the latest in a series of efforts by local museums and arts organisations to be more dementia-friendly and accessible.
The Esplanade headed this change in December 2021 by becoming the first arts organisation certified as a Dementia Go-To Point (GTP). Part of the certification includes designated holding spaces for persons with dementia to wait while their family or caregivers are being located.
The Esplanade has two such spaces – a public one for chattier individuals and another in private for those who may be agitated.
As defined on the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) website, GTPs are “community nodes that serve as resource centres which provide educational resources and information for the general public, persons living with dementia and caregivers”.
The Esplanade’s head of customer and community engagement Grace Low says: “It required extensive training across all our staff. The training programme was co-facilitated by AIC and the Esplanade.
“They taught dementia awareness and we talked about practical considerations to make it applicable for our colleagues. We were taught how to identify someone with dementia and what signs to look out for.”
With the training, they were able to spring into action to locate the family of the elderly man who had wandered into their loading bay.
Ms Low says: “Thankfully, our security staff were trained and could identify the signs that he was a person with dementia. He became the first user of our private calm space. He wasn’t able to share any information about family members or phone numbers, so we had to call the police. It turned out that he had been missing for a number of days.”
She adds: “Someone with dementia is unlikely to be able to articulate that he or she has dementia, so it’s more about noticing the signs.”
National Gallery Singapore (NGS) also joined the ranks as a GTP in December 2022, following its Art With You programme for persons with dementia and their caregivers.
NGS director of community and access Alicia Teng, 40, says: “We’ve been working very hard in this aspect to serve caregivers and persons with dementia. It’s a natural progression and we’re also making a clear statement that we’re welcoming such audiences into the museum. It has to be a space that’s ready to receive such visitors.”
According to the list of GTPs on the HealthHub website, of the 643 locations, NGS is the only museum with this certification.
NGS also has a Calm Room, designed in collaboration with Dr Dawn-Joy Leong, an artist and researcher with autism, located in the basement of their City Hall Wing.
The space is open to all and provides sensory aids like weighted blankets and white noise to calm individuals who may feel overwhelmed or anxious. It also doubles as a holding space for persons with dementia who are lost.
Ms Teng says: “The launch of the Calm Room has been a key change, not just as a museum, but also as a bold move for cultural institutions, because there hasn’t been such a space front and centre within cultural institutions before.”
The opening of Reunion pushes efforts further, encouraging more institutions to see what they can do to welcome persons with dementia, such as Madam Alice Neo Leng Neo, 95, and her daughter and primary caregiver, Ms Sharon Lam, 61.
After her mother’s early diagnosis over 10 years ago, Ms Lam educated herself about the condition and signed her mother up for dementia programmes, which helped slow the rate of progression.
She learnt of Reunion through NMS and Dementia Singapore, giving her the chance to preview the space before it opened.
Madam Neo, affectionately called Aunty Alice by museum volunteers, was all smiles on Tuesday as she cheekily recounted stories from her childhood and snacked on pulut hitam from Cafe Brera.
A memory activity led Madam Neo to share her experiences of wielding a hurricane lamp when using the outdoor bathroom at night as a child.
A hint of mischief appeared as she declared: “You had to be careful while standing over the two planks or you might fall in the s*** hole.”
Being able to socialise in spaces like Reunion brings joy to Madam Neo, whom Ms Lam describes as a “feisty and gregarious Nonya lady who is really funny”.
Ms Lam says: “I’m very game to sign my mum up for stuff. Whenever Dementia Singapore says it has something new, my hand will go up because I think it’s good for her to get out and mingle. I know she likes the social aspect of it, so while she can, why shouldn’t we go? The only effort for me is to take her there.”
As NMS rolls out more programmes and activities at Reunion, it encourages members of the community to visit the space.
Ms Foo says: “I hope people feel welcome to explore and spark that curiosity. We want to build connections and explore how we can use historical collections for the well-being of our seniors. It’s plugging them into what’s easily available around them.”
Dementia-friendly spaces in Singapore
Reunion
Where: Level 1, National Museum Singapore, 93 Stamford Road
When: 9am to 6pm daily. Closed for maintenance from 3pm on April 20, and all day on April 24 and May 3
Admission: Free
Info: str.sg/i4hM
Esplanade Calm Spaces
Where: Mezzanine Level, 1 Esplanade Drive
When: 8am to 11.30pm daily
Admission: Free
National Gallery Singapore Calm Room
Where: Level B1, City Hall Wing, Spine Hall, National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrew’s Road
When: 10am to 7pm daily
Admission: Free
Info: nationalgallery.sg/calmroom
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.
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