Henna, Memory, and Healing: Destigmatising Dementia in South Asian Communities

Pauhana's Groundbreaking Initiative to Empower South Asian Women Affected by Dementia brought together artistic expression, clinical insight, and lived experience to break the silence around ageing and memory loss.

Pauhana in partnership with Professor Elizabeta Mukaetova-Ladinska from the University of Leicester and Leicester based arts organisation Phizzical Productions has completed a groundbreaking collaboration exploring how South Asian communities experience and talk about dementia. Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund, The Wellcome Trust, and Arts Council England, this work brought together artistic expression, clinical insight, and lived experience to break the silence around ageing and memory loss.

We co-created a series of cultural engagement projects to explore how gender roles, beauty standards, migration, and Partition trauma shape South Asian understandings of mental health and dementia.

Working closely with families where older women had been diagnosed with dementia, we uncovered how language, shame, and patriarchy hinder diagnosis and care. Many South Asian languages lack a word for dementia; instead, people are called pagal (mad), a harmful label that blocks support. We used familiar cultural rituals—like henna, whose fading stains mirror memory loss, and rangoli, whose vibrant patterns gradually disappear—to build trust, foster conversation, and affirm dignity.

Our work included observing dementia clinics, supporting families, and developing creative tools that reflect patients’ cultural contexts. With Pauhana’s deep community connections, we reached women who are often invisible in healthcare settings. These experiences are being translated into a framework to create a digital clinical resource to support NHS professionals in offering culturally competent care.

This partnership across science, art, and community has already inspired new conversations, performances, and tools—and it’s just the beginning.

Pauhana are deeply grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund, The Wellcome Trust, and Arts Council England for enabling this vital work. Together, we’re proving that memory loss doesn’t have to mean losing connection—and that art can illuminate even the most complex corners of the human mind.

Twitter: @TNLComFund @ace_national

Facebook: @TNLCommunityFund @artscouncilofengland

Instagram: @TNLCommunityFund @aceagrams

LinkedIn: The National Lottery Community Fund Arts Council England