From object to gesture: Crafting language (Talk)

What happens when art moves away from self-contained objects and towards interaction? How can craft address fundamental social issues like Alzheimer’s or special needs? This presentation focused on 'The Dispensary', a mobile ‘cabinet of curiosities’ that inhabited the dementia wards of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and is now resident in a specialist dementia care home in London. Incorporating visual, tactile and sonic objects designed to stimulate curiosity, trigger memories, and ultimately enhance linguistic function, 'The Dispensary' unsettles traditional relationships between artist, observer, and object, exploring the interplay between well-making, place-making, craft, memory and personal agency.