With Tech, a Nigerian Artist Brings ‘Spark’ to Care Homes - Being Patient

By Elizabeth Hewitt | December 1st, 2022

In Nigeria, creator Kunle Adewale is bringing creation to older adults done a scope of antithetic technologies, including virtual world — and challenging perceptions of dementia and cognitive impairment successful the process.

This nonfiction is portion of the series Diversity & Dementia, produced by Being Patient with enactment provided by Eisai.

World-renowned Nigerian creator Kunle Adewale was named an Atlantic Fellow for Equity successful Brain Health successful 2019.

After Kunle Adewale’s stepmother had a stroke, she was incapable to admit her household members. But she remembered music, peculiarly songs from their greeting devotional. When Adewale sang Amazing Grace, helium recalled, she sang along. 

Now, Adewale is helping different radical surviving with cognitive impairment find akin connections to art. The  internationally renowned creator and World Bank Social Inclusion Hero is moving with older Nigerians done ocular arts, euphony and technology. 

Adewale has been exploring the therapeutic benefits of creation for a decade. Founder of Tender Arts Nigeria and the Arts successful Medicine Projects, Adewale has led initiatives astir Nigeria, different African countries, the U.S., and successful different parts of the satellite that usage dance, music, ocular arts, crafts and different mediums to prosecute adults and children facing assorted wellness conditions, caregivers and aesculapian workers. Through his work, helium has reached thousands of people. He met President Barack Obama, and had a time named successful his honor successful Cincinnati.

Of late, helium has been focused connected older adults and dementia successful particular.

Through the Arts for Brain Health project Adewale and a squad of artists utilized aggregate technological mediums and types of creation successful 5 attraction homes and a neuropsychiatric infirmary successful Lagos. The inaugural besides aims to situation stigma and stereotypes astir cognitive impairment successful Nigeria. 

“What we are simply doing is helping these radical oregon this colonisation to find the missing sparks successful their beingness that dementia is trying to instrumentality away,” Adewale told Being Patient.

By utilizing antithetic technologies, including VR headsets and iPads, Adewale’s inaugural offers participants galore formats for engaging with art. VR allows anybody to beryllium immersed successful a favourite musician. It tin beryllium easier for radical with constricted mobility to gully connected an iPad than holding a pen. “Options springiness country for inclusion,” helium said.

It is this work, successful part, that earned him a relation arsenic an Atlantic Fellow for Equity successful Brain Health successful 2019.

“It’s astir their humanity, not astir their wellness condition,” Adewale said. “It’s not astir their dementia, but it’s astir their potential.”

Raising awareness, and warring stigma 

In Nigeria, galore radical are successful denial erstwhile a loved 1 is perchance affected by dementia, according to Adewale, and  stigma is simply a large issue. “Not galore radical privation much radical to cognize astir what has happened to their loved ones, truthful they would alternatively beryllium kept down doors.”

Nigerians surviving with dementia are besides astatine hazard of abuse. In immoderate cases, radical surviving with dementia person been targets of unit due to the fact that their behaviour has led to suspicions of witchcraft. But consciousness astir dementia is growing, according to Adewale, arsenic advocacy groups and the authorities person tally acquisition campaigns.

““People person ideas of what radical that have
dementia tin bash and what they can’t do.
How astir giving them the payment of doubt?”

As portion of his extremity to make platforms wherever radical surviving with dementia tin showcase their creator expression, Adewale organized an accumulation of artwork by older Nigerians surviving successful nursing homes. 

Adewale organized an creation amusement for older artists astatine the Art Pantheon, a assemblage successful Lagos.

“People person ideas of what radical that person dementia tin bash and what they can’t do,” helium said. “But however astir giving them the payment of doubt? What astir giving them opportunity?”

Adewale said it was a meaningful acquisition for the older artists to spot their works connected the partition of a salient assemblage successful Lagos.

“Equity comes with visibility, not conscionable accessibility but besides visibility,” Adewale said. “Being contiguous successful a country where, ordinarily, you volition not person a voice, you volition not person a place.”

Arts for encephalon health

From unrecorded concerts and dance, to creating integer paintings, to utilizing VR to immerse users successful euphony , Adewale’s Arts for Brain Health task has explored antithetic ways to prosecute radical surviving with dementia with the arts successful Nigerian attraction homes. The task squad coordinates activities ranging from concerts, enjoyed by a ample radical of radical together, to virtual world sessions — which springiness individuals opportunities to person highly immersive experiences connected their own.

Adewale learned astir VR astir 5 years ago, erstwhile his enactment was moving with a assemblage of displaced radical utilizing Google Cardboard — boxes folded into viewers that usage phones to make VR experiences. Previously, Adewale’s enactment with older adults had been centered astir euphony and painting; Adewale wanted to research however this benignant of technological innovation could beryllium utilized to prosecute older adults. 

His task purchased Oculus Quest 2 and Oculus GO headsets, sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Society, Global Brain Health Institute and the Atlantic Institute. The headsets let users to take among options for music, question activities, meditation, sports and travel. Adewale said that the immersive acquisition stimulates radical surviving with dementia, prompting changes successful their temper and expression. “It helps them to travel alive,” helium said.

One man, a erstwhile DJ, asked if helium could ticker Ray Charles. Adewale said the antheral was overwhelmed and astir successful tears. 

Emerging probe indicates virtual world has large therapeutic imaginable for radical surviving with dementia, with links to improvements successful temper and intelligence wellbeing.

Adewale has seen radical who thin to beryllium withdrawn and moody unfastened up arsenic they’re utilizing the headsets, similar a section instrumentalist astatine a attraction location who usually did not interact overmuch with others. When the antheral enactment connected the headset, helium stood up and started to dance, Adewale recalled. Typically each person’s crook with the VR headset lasts lone a mates minutes, but the antheral was enjoying the acquisition truthful overmuch that Adewale fto him proceed for astir fractional an hour. 

The full ambiance of these attraction homes becomes energized and societal erstwhile VR enters the picture, Adewale said.  

“There was a alteration successful the mood, determination was a alteration successful the connection, determination was a alteration successful expression,” helium said.

Adewale’s acquisition with the exertion successful Nigerian attraction homes isn’t happening successful a vacuum. VR is emerging arsenic a promising exertion for radical surviving with dementia astir the globe. Recent probe has recovered that virtual world sessions tin trim aggression and amended interactions with caregivers. The exertion can expose users to stimulating environments, with links to improvements successful temper and intelligence wellbeing. 

Adewale is keen to proceed leveraging immersive exertion to prosecute radical surviving with dementia and cognitive impairment. He besides wants to bid unit members astatine Nigerian attraction homes to usage the exertion themselves with residents.

“There was a alteration successful the mood,
there was a alteration successful the connection,
there was a alteration successful expression.”

As an creation student, Adewale said helium ne'er would person imagined that helium would 1 time find himself moving alongside aesculapian experts to usage creation to attraction for radical facing aesculapian challenges. But, helium sees artists arsenic playing an important relation arsenic portion of a squad supporting radical surviving with dementia, bringing empathy and compassion.

“When I was successful college, cipher taught maine astir the information that arsenic an artist, you tin usage arts to enactment radical surviving with dementia, radical surviving with cognitive impairment, radical surviving with stroke,” helium said. “But arsenic beingness would person it, you know, done research, for me, it’s been an unthinkable accidental to beryllium capable to find myself successful the room.”

Elizabeth Hewitt is an American freelance writer based successful the Netherlands, reporting connected aging, quality and culture. @emhew.