practical living
Vivid secrets
Bradfield Senior College students and their teacher, with director of nursing Anne Curnow( second from left) and lifestyle officer Lynne Power( second from right).
Bradfield Senior College student with Diana Carley. Photos: Hall & Prior
School students explore the rich experiences of residents as part of a pop-up exhibition.
Anne Curnow interviewed by Dallas Bastian
Residents from Hall & Prior recently opened up to students from Bradfield Senior College about their past and the lessons they’ ve learned over the years as part of a multimedia exhibition tied to Vivid Sydney, a 23-day festival of light, music and ideas.
Two of the provider’ s north shore homes, Caroline Chisholm Aged Care Home in Lane Cove and Glenwood Aged Care Home in Greenwich, were asked to be a part of the college’ s project for the 2017 Vivid Ideas Creative Careers program. Year 11 students from the college spent time at the two homes under the supervision of a teacher, interviewing residents Kevin Murphy and Valentine Lowe from Glenwood Aged Care Home, and Geoffrey Murray, Diana Carley, Michael Shaddick and June McKenzie from Caroline Chisholm to find out about their past and achievements.
The end result was the Secrets Exhibition, incorporating photography, film, art, music and installations, which aimed to bridge the years between generations and give a historical and social context to the present.
All residents involved in the project were invited to attend the event. Aged Care
Insite spoke with Anne Curnow, director of nursing at the Caroline Chisholm Aged Care Home, to find out how residents
20 agedcareinsite. com. au enjoyed the exhibition and the chance to share their stories with the younger generation.
ACI: What were residents who agreed to take part in the project asked to do? AC: They were asked to be interviewed by the students from Bradfield Senior College, and it was known as the Vivid Project. So we selected four residents who could take part and who were interested in being interviewed by the students, and it was a great success.
How did residents feel about sharing their secrets with the students? It didn’ t seem to be a problem. Towards the end of the project, one resident said to me,“ It’ s so nice to be able to tell our story without being judged,” which says a lot, doesn’ t it?
Yes, it does. You attended the event with the residents who took part, what did the final exhibition look like? It was really interesting. There were only three residents from Caroline Chisholm that attended, plus three staff. We were welcomed with open arms. Students were so excited to show off their college to these residents, because in the various times that they came to Caroline Chisholm to do the interviews there was a very solid relationship building up between student and resident.
What were some of the things residents revealed about themselves through the project? Out of the four, there was one who talked about the years of travel prior to having to come to our aged care facility. Another resident spent many years in South Africa as a microbiologist, and he had some wonderful stories to tell to the boys. Another one spoke about adopting. She and her husband were unable to have children so they adopted a daughter. The last resident revealed many interesting and horrific things that happened to her in childhood, and years down the track she turned to painting, to art, for comfort when she thought about these things.
How did residents react to seeing themselves as part of this exhibition? Very normal. It was like,“ Can we do this again?”
What were some of the highlights for you personally? For me, it was that the residents were so proud that I had selected them to be involved, and they were so happy that I attended the function for the opening of the Bradfield College Vivid Project. It was the first time Caroline Chisholm had been involved in anything like it, and it was just a good day out.
What was it like for residents interacting with students and being part of the wider community in this way? It was wonderful. Of course, you know these residents all have grandchildren, and we see them from time to time at Caroline Chisholm with their grandchildren. But it was just special the way they responded to these students. It was like,“ We’ ve got more grandchildren!” It was just a very beautiful relationship that was built up.
So are residents keen to be involved in more projects like this in the future? Yes, most certainly, and one of the residents that did come to the opening was not involved, as she was only a very new resident at the time, but we took her to see it, and she’ s definitely put her name down to be involved next year. So it was a very good, very positive response. For a resident to say to me,“ It’ s so lovely to be able to talk, to feel free to tell my story without being judged,” was really the highlight. It summed up the whole day. ■