A groundbreaking art gallery dedicated to celebrating creativity in people living with dementia has officially opened at Tauranga Hospital in New Zealand, establishing a unique international partnership with the University of California San Francisco. Gallery 190 NZ serves as the sister gallery to the renowned Gallery 190, which operates under UCSF's distinguished Memory and Aging Center.

Dr. Bronwyn Copeland, a Tauranga geriatric psychiatrist who spearheaded this innovative collaboration, announced that the gallery will feature four synchronized exhibitions annually alongside its San Francisco counterpart. "Our aim is to find beauty within the illness and showcase the incredible artistic talents that can emerge through dementia," Copeland explained. The partnership was born from her sabbatical experience at UCSF's Memory and Aging Center (MAC), which was founded in 1998 by internationally respected neurologist Professor Bruce Miller.

The UCSF Memory and Aging Center's extensive research has documented fascinating cases where brain degeneration sometimes releases previously dormant creative abilities, leading to remarkable productions in visual art, music, and poetry. Inspired by the center's gallery and outreach programs, Copeland returned to New Zealand with a determination to create a local counterpart. "I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to partner with them," she said. "Art and dementia are two of my passions, and forming a sister gallery was something I felt could make a real difference."

After extensive discussions with Professor Miller, Gallery 190 curator Sara Wesson Chang, community creative coordinator Gloria Aguirre, and Alzheimers Tauranga, the international collaboration was formally established. The gallery is strategically located in a light-filled space within the Mental Health Service for Older Persons (MHSOP) waiting room at Tauranga Hospital, creating an accessible and welcoming environment for patients and their families.

Among the first artists to be featured is Ian Cameron, a 66-year-old Tauranga resident living with dementia mate wareware, who remarkably began his artistic journey only after receiving his diagnosis approximately five years ago. Dementia mate wareware encompasses symptoms caused by various diseases affecting brain functions such as memory, thinking, and social skills. Cameron's background as a technical writer who converted code into layman's language, combined with his expertise in chemistry and geology, provided no indication of his hidden artistic potential.

Prior to his diagnosis, Cameron was passionate about motorcycles, but dementia has since prevented him from driving or riding. His artistic awakening came gradually as he watched his wife, an avid quilter, work on her projects. With encouragement from both his wife and sister, and drawing on his previous experience with leadlighting, Cameron began creating free-flowing, instinctive marks that eventually evolved into larger drawings he playfully calls "Whackadoodles."

"It just happens organically, you don't think about it," Cameron described his creative process. "It doesn't matter what you do, there's no wrong way. It makes me feel good." His distinctive artistic style caught the attention of curator Sara Wesson Chang during Copeland's trip to the United States. This recognition led to Cameron's first solo exhibition, titled "The Whackadoodler from Middle Earth," which opened last month at Gallery 190 in San Francisco.

The exhibition has now made its way to New Zealand, where Cameron's pieces are prominently displayed at Gallery 190 NZ. His work represents the inaugural cross-Pacific artistic exchange between the two galleries, marking a significant milestone in international dementia arts collaboration. The gallery builds upon the success of "Artful Mind," a 2024 exhibition led by Alzheimers Tauranga manager Glenn Bradley, volunteer coordinator Steph Harlan, local artists, and Copeland.

The "Artful Mind" project created meaningful partnerships between people living with dementia and local artists, resulting in new collaborative works or transforming life stories into artistic expressions. "Every piece tells a story of resilience, creativity and connection," Bradley explained. "It honors the voices of people living with dementia mate wareware and their whānau." The exhibition's overwhelming community support prompted a second event in September and directly inspired the creation of Gallery 190 NZ.

Copeland emphasized that the gallery's mission extends far beyond simply displaying artwork on walls. "It's about creating meaning from art, giving it purpose, using it to bless others," she said. "It's about trying to find beauty in suffering and capturing moments and memories that might otherwise fade." She envisions the gallery as a catalyst for broader arts-based dementia programs in Tauranga, services that are commonly available overseas but currently lacking in the local community.

Gallery 190 NZ will continue to run exhibitions in synchronization with its San Francisco counterpart, with ambitious plans for shared thematic exhibitions, including a potential Earth Day collaboration and ongoing artwork exchanges between the two countries. "We're honored to have our first cross-Pacific artist in Ian Cameron, our Whackadoodler from Middle Earth," Copeland said. "His solo exhibition in San Francisco was a great success; we have his beautiful work here – this is something to be really proud about and celebrate."

The gallery officially opened on October 24 and will feature rotating exhibitions showcasing works by people living with dementia and those who have supported them throughout their journeys. "The underlying purpose of our gallery is to try and find beauty within the illness as well as showcase some of the amazing talents that can be revealed when dementia sets in," Copeland concluded. This initiative represents a significant step toward increasing awareness, enhancing public empathy, and providing meaningful creative expression opportunities for the dementia community in New Zealand.