Louise Snowball, Room #237 - a multisensory, mixed media art installation about dementia and long-term care
CCNA Knowledge Mobilization Activity (2024)

Strengthening knowledge and understanding of lived experienced of dementia and long-term care through the arts

• “Louise Snowball, Room #237”, a multisensory, mixed media art installation about dementia and long-term care, was exhibited at the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) Partners Forum and Science Days (PFSD), March 18-21, 2024, in Montreal, Quebec.
• Ellen Snowball, an interdisciplinary artist and program manager of CCNA’s Engagement of People with Lived Experience of Dementia (EPLED) program and Advisory Group, created the installation as a replica of her mother Louise’s long-term care facility room.
• The aim of exhibiting this work at a scientific conference was to strengthen knowledge and understanding of lived experience of dementia for institutionalized older persons and foster research partnerships and collaboration among researchers, trainees and people with lived experience of dementia.
• The art installation was highly rated by attendees^{Footnote *} across multiple measures, including enhanced experience of the CCNA conference and raising awareness of lived experience contributions to research:
  • To the question "Did the artwork impact your perception about dementia?", the average rating was 4.4 out of 5.
  • To the question "Did viewing the artwork make you think about ways People with lived experience (PWLE) can contribute to research?", the average rating was 4.6 out of 5.
  • To the question "Did the artwork enhance your experience at CCNA PFSD?", the average rating was 4.9 out of 5.

About the Team

Ellen Snowball (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist living in Guelph, Ontario. In her art practice, she often works with photography, videography and installation to discuss topics related to trauma, identity, illness and loss. Ellen graduated from the Interdisciplinary Master's in Art Media and Design program at OCAD University in April of 2019. In 2020, she began working with Jennifer Bethell (co-lead of CCNA’s EPLED program) at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network as a Research Associate managing CCNA’s Engagement of People with Lived Experience of Dementia (EPLED) program and Advisory Group.

Links to key/related outputs, including academic and non-academic, and further reading:

• Louise Snowball, Room #237 (Masters thesis)

Date modified:

2025-01-13