Students create artwork for health trust patients
Thu, 25 June 2015
Photography students from Tameside College have helped to brighten up dementia wards across Greater Manchester with images of local scenery. The students created images of iconic locations such as the Stockport Viaduct and Manchester Ship Canal that will hang on the walls of the Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust specialist units in Bury, Oldham, Tameside, Stockport and Rochdale.
The Trust, which is investing £50,000 to make their wards more, friendly and welcoming for patients that suffer with dementia, recruited creative students from Tameside College to help with the project. Students were given a brief that included guidance on avoiding abstract images and reflective surfaces, as research suggests these can be confusing or distressing for dementia patients.
Victoria Jordan, Capital Projects and Commissioning Officer at Pennine Care, paid tribute to the students’ hard work: “The students have produced some stunning images and we’re really grateful to them. We know that people experiencing dementia can often find ward environments distressing but having appropriate photographs can help them navigate around the wards and bring back fond memories from their past.”
Level three Photography student Kayla Myers used images of Formby beach for her project. She described how much she had enjoyed working on the project by saying: “It’s a nice thing to be involved in and I think it’s a really good idea to have images on the wards.”
Student Michelle Coyne, also taking Level three Photography, added: “I hadn’t ever thought about where the art in hospitals comes from but I’m really proud to have contributed to it.”
Irena Siwiak Atamewan, Photography Lecturer at Tameside College said: “It’s an important part of the students’ education and experience to take part in live briefs as it gives them a taste of working with clients and working to a deadline. When we take part in live briefs, the students always take the challenge and produce great work. They’ve had a great time working with the Health Trust on this project and making a difference in the lives of those patients that suffer with dementia.”
Andrew Cheers, Faulty Director for A-Levels and Creative Industries finished by saying: “This is an outstanding opportunity to experience what it’s like to be a professional photographer. We’re really pleased with the excellent quality of the students’ images.”