‘Smell it, it’s wonderful’: Dutch gallery designs tours for people with dementia

Kunstmuseum Den Haag tour sparks senses of people with dementia and their carers

Eight people approached a fragrant carpet of lavender in the Kunstmuseum Den Haag gallery. Four of them had dementia and four were their relatives and carers. “Put your nose nearer the ground and smell it, it’s wonderful!” called Annie Versteeg, 88, to Bwieuwkje Bruinenberg-Haisma, 90, in her wheelchair nearby.

“This tour is about colour and here we have a colour and it goes with a smell,” said Yke Prins, the museum guide. “Do you know what it is? It is lavender. What does it make you think about?”