Te Mahana - the warmth of the home

Over the last few months I have been working with two artists, Bridget Nawalowalo and Daisy Bingham to tell the story of their collaboration to create a new entrance way to Te Mahana, the Wellington women's homeless shelter. They worked with the Creative Communities team (Roo Rowley) at Wellington City Council to fund the project and liaise with the city. A workshop was held with the women in the shelter, exploring their concepts and feelings about 'home' and this was incorporated into the final design. Thanks to our sponsors, Bunnings who supplied building materials and labour.

Music for Life - living with dementia

I worked with music therapist, Rani Heath on a project instigated by Alzheimers Wellington (now Dementia Wellington) to explore the power of music and memory. A small group of people living with dementia worked with us over a number of months to trial the Simple Music Player. The SMP is a retro styled device that has a MP3 player in the back. Rani worked with each person to compile the 'playlist of their lives' and then saved it to the MP3. The beauty of the Simple Music Player is it is very easy to use, you just have to lift a flap and your own music plays. We had workshops at the beginning and end of the project, talking to people about the process. Watch here: