Can you walk a day in the shoes of someone with Parkinson’s?

Lien Foundation is using interactive experiences to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease, inviting the public to try everyday activities that can become challenging for people living with the condition.

Titled “Warrior 24/7”, the exhibition features seven interactive stations designed to help visitors better understand how Parkinson’s can affect movement, coordination, communication and daily routines.

Conceived and designed by independent creative agency Kinetic Singapore, the experience was developed with input from people living with Parkinson’s, caregivers, Parkinson Society Singapore (PSS), clinicians from Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the National Neuroscience Institute, as well as the Singapore Institute of Technology.

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The stations translate selected symptoms into hands-on activities. Visitors can try fastening clothing to understand how muscle rigidity can affect fine motor movements, and handle utensils while experiencing simulated hand tremors to explore the difficulties of eating independently.

A mock MRT platform highlights how slowness, shuffling steps and freezing of gait can affect mobility in public spaces. Another activity recreates the challenge of carrying a food tray while navigating a simulated food court, demonstrating how movement and attention can become difficult to manage at the same time.

At the handwriting station, visitors use a restrictive device to experience micrographia, a symptom that causes handwriting to become smaller and more cramped. A singing activity, meanwhile, illustrates hypophonia, or abnormally soft speech, which can affect communication.

The final station invites visitors to reflect on the experience and leave messages of encouragement for people living with Parkinson’s and their caregivers. Visitors who complete all seven stations will receive a specially designed keycharm.

Beyond raising awareness, the initiative aims to encourage early detection and foster greater patience and respect towards people living with Parkinson’s. It also seeks to connect them with PSS and its KEEP rehabilitation and support programme, which was launched earlier this year.

The exhibition will run at the Singapore Institute of Technology’s Punggol Campus W1 Forum from 31 October to 4 November, before moving to City Square Mall from 7 to 15 November. It will be open daily from 10am to 6pm.

American Ninja Warrior competitor and Parkinson’s advocate Jimmy Choi, alongside his wife Cherryl, will attend the exhibition’s launch on 31 October.

The initiative marks 30 years of Parkinson Society Singapore. According to Lien Foundation, an estimated 10,000 people in Singapore live with Parkinson’s, with about 400 new cases recorded annually.

Lien Foundation CEO Lee Poh Wah said Parkinson’s is the world’s fastest-growing neurodegenerative condition, yet remains under-recognised.

The exhibition builds on Lien Foundation’s earlier efforts to raise awareness of health conditions through creative storytelling. In January, the foundation partnered Dementia Singapore on “A Singapore dementia story”, a five-film anthology that used genres ranging from romantic comedy to thriller to challenge perceptions of dementia and foster empathy for people living with the condition and their caregivers.

The initiative reflects the foundation’s wider use of creative approaches to encourage greater understanding of often misunderstood health conditions. 

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