Projections

Projections is the culmination of a collaborative creative research project exploring school children’s perceptions of aging and dementia. The Projections art exhibition grew out of this research. Led by Dr. Shelley Canning and staged by Dr. Candace Couse with support from the School of Creative Arts and the Centre for Education and Research on Aging, Projections involved research participants, artists, researchers, community partners, and UFV students, all of whom are necessary authors of this work.

Dr. Canning explains: “Our research project responded to the problem of stigma and discrimination against older adults and people living with dementia by asking: what perceptions do children have and when do they develop them? Our work operated under the premise that stigma related to aging and dementia begins early, as children are influenced by familial, cultural, and broader societal beliefs and values. In addressing these questions, we partnered with public elementary schools located on the territory of the Stó:lō people, the Semá:th and Mathxwí First Nation. In the process, we gathered hundreds of drawings, writings and musings from our student participants forming the basis for Projections. In turn, Projections invites you in to activate your own role in meaning-making around the questions it poses, and in doing so, it also implicates you in the web of social perceptions around dementia and aging.”