CATCHING THE BUS IS JUST THE TICKET TO LOCAL DEMENTIA ARTS EXHIBITION

Published 3 July 2019 at 11:25am

Visitors to a local dementia arts exhibition are being urged to ditch the car during Catch the Bus Week.

Organisers of the South Yorkshire Dementia Creative Arts Exhibition, together with South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, are calling for local residents to give the bus a go and visit the unique showcase, on display at Meadowhall Interchange until 5 July.

“We’re delighted to be hosting this year’s Dementia Creative Arts Exhibition at Meadowhall Interchange. There’s some fantastic artwork on display by the region’s dementia community and it would be great to see as many people as possible supporting the showcase,” said Tim Taylor, SYPTE’s Director of Customer Services.

“As it’s Catch the Bus Week, we‘d love to see visitors leaving the car at home and discovering how convenient, comfortable and enjoyable giving the bus a go can be – freeing up valuable time and a third less stressful than commuting by car.*

“Travelling by bus frees up road space, too, which can have a massive impact on the environment. If we all switched just one car journey a month to the bus, there would be one billion fewer car journeys on our roads, and a saving of 2 million tonnes of CO2.** So, why not do your bit and get involved with Catch the Bus Week by taking the bus to the exhibition and show your support for two valuable initiatives”.

The 11th annual exhibition, which runs until Friday (5 July 2019), offers members of the region’s dementia community the opportunity to showcase their talent through art. This year’s theme is ‘Dementia is…’ with anyone affected by memory loss or dementia invited to contribute their creative art.

David Reid, Senior University Teacher in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sheffield said: “We’re really thankful to SYPTE for allowing us to use Meadowhall Interchange for the site of this year’s exhibition. Our aim is to offer the wider community a new personal understanding of dementia, inviting visitors to see experiences depicted in the artwork or poetry that prompts thinking about what dementia means to them.

“As a busy transport interchange, we hope that it will help those passing to think a little bit more about dementia, as well as showing them the talents of those living with the illness, who can sometimes feel invisible in their everyday lives.”

For more information about the South Yorkshire Dementia Creative Arts Exhibition, visit sydcae.co.uk

*Research commissioned by Greener Journeys, conducted by Dr David Lewis of Mind Lab International, September 2011
**Greener Journeys, The Road to a Carbon Efficient Britain, 2009