Reframing Dementia: A powerful new public photography exhibition by ArtHouse Jersey and Dementia Jersey
Vasco by Natalie Mayer
Friday 15 May to Sunday 7 June at ArtHouse Jersey at Capital House. 25 May 2025 at the Royal Square
Free entry, no booking required
ArtHouse Jersey and Dementia Jersey, are delighted to announce Reframing Dementia, a free public photographic exhibition opening across two prominent locations in St Helier: ArtHouse Jersey at Capital House from Friday 15 May and Royal Square from Monday 25 May 2026. Both run until Sunday 7 June.
Bringing together a series of powerful and deeply human portraits, the exhibition features nine Islanders living with dementia, photographed by five Channel Island photographers: Paul Chambers, Sophie Darwin, Oliver Doran, Étienne Lainé and Natalie Mayer. Each artist brings a distinct visual approach, united by a shared commitment to dignity, collaboration and authenticity.
Rather than focusing on loss or decline, Reframing Dementia offers a different perspective - one that foregrounds individuality, connection, resilience and joy. The exhibition invites audiences to look beyond the diagnosis and encounter each person as a whole, complex individual, with their own relationships, skills and stories.
Dementia is often portrayed in ways that emphasise fear and inevitability. This exhibition seeks to gently challenge those assumptions, offering a more nuanced and hopeful understanding of what it means to live with dementia today. With the right support at the right time, many people continue to lead fulfilling, meaningful lives before symptoms limit their independence - a reality that is rarely reflected in public narratives.
Presented across both an indoor gallery setting and a highly visible outdoor public space, Reframing Dementia has been designed to be as accessible and welcoming as possible. With no ticketing or booking required, the exhibition invites both intentional visitors and passers-by to pause, reflect and engage.
Our subjects include people who have worked as journalists, electricians, accountants, brewers, pharmacy assistants, and lecturers. They have built their own boats, travelled the world, run businesses, taken up diving in their 70s, and been jet- skiing in their 80s. Today, several continue to attend church, walk their dogs, golf, paint, laugh, socialise - and even play the bagpipes.
James Tyson, Head of Programme at ArtHouse Jersey, said: “Reframing Dementia is an exhibition grounded in care, collaboration and lived experience. These portraits offer a powerful reminder that a diagnosis does not define a person, that identity, humour, relationships and creativity remain. By bringing this work into public spaces, we hope to create moments of connection and reflection, and to gently shift how dementia is seen and understood within our community. It’s about making space for empathy, recognition and a more hopeful, human narrative.”
Claudine Snape, CEO of Dementia Jersey, said: “For many people, a diagnosis of dementia can feel overwhelming, shaped by fear and misunderstanding. This exhibition offers powerful reassurance. It shows that life does not stop at diagnosis, and that people continue to be themselves: connected, capable, and full of meaning. We hope it encourages anyone affected by dementia, and those around them, to feel less alone and more confident about reaching out for support.”
Developed in close partnership with Dementia Jersey, the project aligns with ongoing work to support people living with dementia and their families across the Island. It aims to reduce stigma, encourage open conversation and offer reassurance to those who may be navigating a recent diagnosis.
Through its presence in everyday public spaces, Reframing Dementia reaches beyond traditional gallery audiences, creating opportunities for unexpected encounters and shared reflection in the flow of daily life.
