Dementia Photography Competition Winners Announced

South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT) and Anglia Ruskin University have announced the winners of a photography competition to depict ‘Living Well With Dementia’.

The photography competition was advertised throughout Anglia Ruskin University and SEPT as part of the Health & Wellbeing Academy, which is initiating a research project exploring how people living with dementia continue to enjoy everyday activities whilst adapting to the changes that dementia brings.

To coincide with the research, entries for the photography competition were invited from people living with dementia, their family, friends and carers and amateur photographers.

Photographs submitted were asked to portray an aspect of what it means to live well with dementia and reflect the ways in which those living with dementia are able to enjoy life as their condition progresses.

The judges for the competition included from Anglia Ruskin University Professor James Hampton-Till and Professor Stephen Moore, SEPT’s Executive Director for Performance and Business Strategy Peter Wadum-Buhl and Essex artist and photographer Peter Bolton. The winning entries were judged to be as thus:

Winner - Sandra Adeoni (Canvey Island)

Runner-Up and third place – Debbie Day (Southend)

The winning photo is of 86 year old mother Betty with her grandson and her great grandson Freddie - a surprise birth - he only weighed 3lbs 12ozs. Freddie was named after Betty’s husband of 62 years who died last year from dementia. Betty has dementia also.

The winners receive an ipad for first place, and ipad mini for second place and third placed entry receives a £50 voucher.

Judge Peter Bolton said “The winning entry was an image that bridges time across the generations. The runner up entry depicts relaxation at a local pub. A reminder that inclusion is important and that Dementia sufferers should not be hidden out of sight because they do not comply to the so called 'norm' of what the general population (adults mostly) considers acceptable behaviour. The young lad in the background totally absorbed in his on screen world makes no such judgements. Congratulations to all the entrants and particularly the winners. It’s encouraging to see such a high standard of entries and deciding a winner was no easy task”.

James Hampton-Till, Deputy Dean, Anglia Ruskin University, said: “Dementia strikes at the heart of who we are; it impacts on both the sufferer and those closest to them. Our photography competition demonstrates that the disease means different things to different people. We are further exploring this in a research study investigating ways of increasing support for dementia sufferers and their carers as the disease progresses.”

ENDS