The exhibition “Step into my shoes” (original title in Lithuanian “Nepatyręs nesupras”) is a silent testimony of the caregivers of persons living with dementia that carries the purpose of raising awareness in the public about the carer experience today in Lithuania. “Current reality leveraging support systems in the health care, social care systems and communities, public awareness about dementia, the prevalence of dementia related stigma is the reason the family members draw the routine of caring in Lithuania today as a journey of loss, prolonged mourning, in the search for meaning and connectedness”, says the curator of the exhibition, art researcher, founder and head of the association Dementia Lithuania, Ieva Petkutė.
The exhibition was created through a participatory research process called “Photovoice”, where photography and text were used to capture different aspects of everyday experience. 10 participants that took part in the creative process of developing the exhibition came from different parts of the country - both from major cities (Vilnius, Kaunas) and from smaller towns and the countryside (districts of Trakai, Ignalina, Biržai districts, Vilkaviškis, Jonava). The collective process included discussions, photography workshops, individual work, etc. The group was closely involved in the whole process of the exhibition development, so the final result can be considered to be representative of the dominant experience of informal care in Lithuania.
The visitors of the exhibition shared different insights about the importance of such an exhibition, highlighting the potential of creative methods to raise awareness in the public about dementia. People who have close or a more distant experience of “caring for someone” highlighted that the exhibition offered a powerful experience: “I have not personally experienced it, but only indirectly. My wife took care of her dad, I waited for her while she was at his place. She was always tense and tired. This exhibition reflects very well the experience we lived”, one visitor said. Others emphasised the importance of informing the public, and of accelerating the development of support systems: “I am a mother, I have a little daughter. I have not encountered dementia either in my family or in my environment. The exhibition is really useful... To know how it can be. After all, we are not immune to it. So that we know how it can happen”, shared another visitor.
