Artful Mind exhibition: Taking dementia from Tauranga to the world

Local Tauranga artist living with dementia mate wareware, Ian Cameron, has his work on display in Gallery 190 in San Francisco – all thanks to a recent community collaboration.

Alzheimers Tauranga Volunteer Co-ordinator Steph Harlan and Manager Glenn Bradley, together with local artist and geriatric psychiatrist Bronwyn Copeland, teamed up to run the ‘Artful Mind’ exhibition last year. This pairs up people living with dementia mate wareware with local artists to produce new work.

Following the success of the inaugural exhibition, the 2025 event was launched in September, in Tauranga, to mark World Alzheimers Month. This exhibition is open until 18 October.

While recently on sabbatical, Bronwyn was able to connect with the team at the University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF) Memory of Ageing Centre and was inspired by their initiative Gallery 190.

They hold four exhibitions per year to showcase the works of patients, whānau or artists and the theme is brain health.

Challenging the brain with new activities – like painting – is one way people can help reduce their risk of dementia mate wareware, and potentially slow the progression of the condition.

“After I got back to New Zealand I thought that it would be a fantastic opportunity to partner with them and create their little sister gallery,” says Bronwyn.

After meeting with the team at Alzheimers Tauranga and representatives from San Fransico – Curator Sara Wesson Chang and Professor Bruce Miller – an international partnership was born.

Currently, the US gallery is showcasing Ian’s work in his first solo exhibition titled ‘The Whackadoodler from Middle Earth’.

Ian comes from a long line of artists, but this was the first time he picked up a paintbrush himself. He loved working with Bronwyn and attending the art classes alongside others.

He plans to get back to the exhibition to take a closer look because the opening night was quite busy!

“Ian has discovered his own style of artistic expression and is a prolific artist,” says Bronwyn.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to partner with UCSF and share art across the Pacific that showcases the work some of our patients are creating.”

In the meantime, the local team is working to get the exhibition at Gallery 190NZ – otherwise known as the Mental Health Service Older Persons (MHSOP) waiting room at Tauranga Hospital – so people there can enjoy the work. This will officially be open from 24 October at 4.30pm.

“The purpose is the celebration of the good that that can come out of dementia, and to give a platform for some of the painters to display their work,” says Bronwyn.

“It’s just something different and positive and it brings artists and dementia together which can be therapeutic for clients. It can add meaning, and you can find beauty in suffering.”

Glenn says Artful Mind is about more than the artwork on the walls – it’s about honouring the voices of people living with dementia mate wareware and their whānau.

“Every piece tells a story of resilience, creativity, and connection,” he says.

“To see one of our local clients now exhibiting in San Francisco is incredibly special – it shows that from here in Tauranga, authentic stories of living well with dementia can reach across the world. That’s something our whole community can be proud of.”

Find out more about Artful Mind online.

CAPTION: Bronwyn Copeland and Ian Cameron with their joint work that is on display as part of the Artful Mind exhibit