Light sculpture installation in City Focus aims to reflect dementia friendly community

The light sculpture will be in Rotorua's City Focus from April 3-24.

An artistic and interactive installation will light up inner city Rotorua next month, reflecting Rotorua's aim to be a dementia-friendly community.

Called Affinity, the light sculpture will be in the City Focus from April 3 to 24.

Activated by human touch, it explores the effects of dementia.

The lighting up of the dramatic sculpture will be attended by Alzheimer's New Zealand champion for dementia Kate de Goldi. Both of her parents had dementia - a topic she addressed in her novel The ACB with Honora Lee.

Spanning 13m by 13m and standing 3.5m tall, Affinity features a web of interconnected globes that represent neurons in the brain. When stimulated by touch, the globes set up a striking display of light and sound.

This display depicts the complexity and connectivity of the human brain representing the rapid-fire transmission of messages between neurons.

Sounds and personal stories of Rotorua residents impacted by dementia have been recorded to emanate from the globes raising awareness of this important social issue.

Created in Australia, by amigo and amigo in collaboration with S1T2, the sculpture wowed thousands in Auckland when it made its first New Zealand appearance last year.

Its time in Rotorua is made possible by the generous support from its premium sponsor, health and care company Bupa. Support has also come from Rotorua Lakes Council and Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust.

Provider to two rest homes and a retirement village in Rotorua, Bupa has been involved in the creation of the dementia-friendly Rotorua steering group. Bupa director of care services and rehabilitation Jenni Coles said a dementia-friendly community started with understanding what dementia was and Affinity would assist with that.

Best viewed in the dark, the installation will come to life from dusk until 10pm. Community volunteers will be ambassadors at the site during the evenings.

Rotorua Lakes Council project manager Mandy Godo is delighted Rotorua will host the creative installation.

"It is truly beautiful when lit up and a great educational opportunity for young and old."

Dementia-Friendly Steering Group chairwoman Rosemary Viskovic said Affinity provided a superb opportunity to raise public awareness of the issues facing people and their families living with dementia.

She said there was a wonderful synchronicity around Affinity coming to Rotorua, given the efforts the city was making to become New Zealand's first dementia-friendly community.

So far work has included establishing the steering group and holding a dementia-friendly Christmas carol service.

Future work will include more opportunities to raise awareness, a pilot education programme for schools, and dementia-friendly public transport initiatives.

A dementia-friendly village, being built by Whare Aroha CARE, will open in Rotorua later this year. It will be the first of its kind outside of Holland's internationally acclaimed De Hogeweyk.

A report sharing the learnings of the dementia-friendly Rotorua steering group will be released in sync with the Affinity opening to help other communities looking to make dementia-friendly changes.

An estimated 60,000 New Zealanders live with dementia today. Indications are that given New Zealand's ageing population, that number is expected to triple by 2050.