Arts in Medicine

Creativity in Elder Care
Training Medical Students in the Use of Creative Expression to Improve Elder Care
"The poem springs from the half-spoken words of such patients as the physician sees from day to day… This, in the end, comes perhaps to be the occupation of the physician after a lifetime of careful listening." -William Carlos Williams

We are excited to announce that in July 2016, we launched the The Art and Medicine Program at the University Of Arizona College Of Medicine – Phoenix and the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project (APP), based in Brooklyn, New York, provided a series of participatory arts training workshops for medical students to use creativity with elder patients. We developed a medical student curriculum entitled, “Creativity in Elder Care,” for the Art in Medicine program. The program is now in its third year.

The workshops were co-taught by Gary Glazner, founder and Executive Director of the APP, and Cynthia A. Standley, PhD, professor in the Department of Bioethics and Medical Humanism at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.

APP on Wisconsin Public Radio

Fabu Carter on Wisconsin Public Radio on the APP and how dementia effects the African American community. Fabu leads the APP in Wisconsin and works at the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Such an honor to get to work with her.

Please give the show a listen:Poetry And Alzheimer's

The Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center is a unique program combining academic, clinical, and research expertise from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) of the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.

For Our Elders With Memory Loss
by Fabu Carter
(From Dementia Arts: Celebrating Creative in Elder Care)

Some call you seniors
I call you wise elders
Living long and learning much.

You should be honored
Your grey hair a symbol
Of victory and authority in life.

When your memory flees or hides
And every face seem strange
Remember the other signs of love.

The gentle touch, the kind voice
The spirit that welcomes you
Just as you are.

Reassure yourselves
That you know how love feels
For it will chase the fear of forgetting
away.

Dementia Arts Conference: Celebrating Creativity in Elder Care

The New Mexico History Museum joins the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project to share techniques for reaching people with memory illnesses through literature, performance and visual art and museum exhibits on Saturday, October 25, 9am to 4pm, New Mexico History Museum, 113 Lincoln Avenue Santa Fe, NM 87501. Registration fee of $35 includes light breakfast and lunch. Continuing Education Units will be available.

To register or for more information call 505-577-2250 or go to: www.dementiaarts.com

Workshops will be led by: Gary Glazner, Alzheimer’s Poetry Project; Alysha Shaw, Lifesongs℠; Jane Tygesson, Discover Your Story; Ruth Dennis, Vista Living; and Jytte Lokvig, Alzheimer’s Café. Poet Stuart Hall will be the featured guest artist.

Partnering Organizations: Alzheimer’s Association, New Mexico Chapter; Alzheimer’s Café; Alzheimer’s Poetry Project; Discover Your Story, IAIA MFA Creative Writing Program; Institute of Dementia Education & Art; Life Songs; New Mexico Literary Arts; Southwestern College, and Vista Living Communities. The conference is in support the New Mexico Alzheimer’s and Related Dementia State Plan, with the endorsement of: the officeof Governor Susana Martinez New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department and the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.

Partially funded by the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission; Santa Fe Community Foundation; McCune Foundation; National Endownent for the Arts; New Mexico Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

www.dementiaarts.com

Celebration of Creativity

New York Memory Center, Alzheimer’s Poetry Project and the
Brooklyn Public Library Present:
A Celebration of Creativity
A Memory Arts Café event, featuring singer Hannah Reimann

Saturday, June 28th, 10:30 am to 12:30pm, Brooklyn Public Library Dweck Center 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn. For info: call (718) 499-7701 or visit alzpoetry.com

Memory Arts Café is series of free art events for people living with Alzheimer’s disease, their caregivers and the general public and is co-produced by New York Memory Center and the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project. The series includes light refreshments and the opportunity to chat with the guest artists.

The Celebration of Creativity with feature guest artist, singer and actor Hannah Reimann and be hosted by poet Gary Glazner. The highlight of the day will be the artists leading the audience, in the creation and performance of an exciting new work combining music and poetry.

Hannah Reimann has performed at Lincoln Center, the Grand Canyon Music Festival, and mostly recently performing the music of Joni Mitchell at the Cutting Room. Jim Brenholts for All Music writes, “Hannah’s range allows her to sing love songs, simple ballads, melancholy blues, and torch songs with equal gusto. Her lyrics are complex and simple; they are heartfelt and liberating.” She has collaborated with violist Paul Coletti performing the music of Argentine Astor Piazzolla. As a film actor, Reimann has appeared in over 20 independent films including the award-winning "The Wounded & the Slain" and “Things I Don’t Understand.” Her original music has been featured on CNN.

The event is co-produced by New York Memory Center, Alzheimer’s Poetry Project, and the Brooklyn Public Library.

John Fons' Writing

A while back we featured the poetry of Jon Fons. He had participated in Alzheimer's Poetry Day at the Overture Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Fons has recently launched a wonderful website featuring his writing. Click here to link to his website:

Here is another of Fons' poems:

Pressed Flowers

You are the
Bloom of
Yesterday.

Your colors
And scent
Evaporated,
Your stem
Grown brittle.

Yet every
Flower holds
The memory of
Its passion.

Every petal
Tells a beauty
Beyond fashion.

APP on the Radio

Click here to listen to the show: Alzheimers Speaks Radio, Blog Talk Radio

Performing a poem at the Memory Arts Cafe.

With Gary Glazner and project artists Zoe Bird; Fabu Carter; Rachel Moritz and Michelle Otero.

Valentine's Dance

New York Memory Center & Alzheimer’s Poetry Project Present

Valentine’s Dance at the Memory Arts Café

Memory Arts Café is a new series of free art events for people living with Alzheimer’s disease, their caregivers and the general public and is co-produced by New York Memory Center and the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project. The series, which takes place on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, includes light refreshments and the opportunity to chat with the guest artists.

This Memory Arts Café event features the dance company Rhythm Break Cares (RBC). Poet Gary Glazner will host the event.

Wednesday, February 13th, at 6 pm

New York Memory Center

199 14th Street at 4th Avenue • Brooklyn, NY 11215

(Take the R to Prospect Ave.)

For info: call (718) 499-7701 or visit alzpoetry.com

Please join us for an evening of fun, dancing and socializing. Rhythm Break Cares (RBC) takes a unique and highly effective approach to address the widespread and immediate needs of individuals with Alzheimer’s, associated dementias, and their caregivers, by engaging them in partner dance as a means to improve their quality of life. Since 2009, RBC has successfully offered this interesting form of dance therapy, which capitalizes on the demonstrated benefits of music, movement and touch. Their sessions provide a rare opportunity for patients and their caregivers to escape some of the burdens associated with Alzheimer’s and dementia, in a stress-free environment where they can observe, participate and be entertained.

Ballad of the Happy Guitar

The poets of Sierra Vista Assisted Living created this poem on December 5th, 2012 with poet Gary Glazner.

Our model poem was Edward Lear's “The Owl and the Pussy Cat,” with its wonderful line “...the owl looked up to the stars above and sang to a small guitar.”

The daughter of one of the participants, the writer Abby Frucht had asked us to read a poem she had written for her mother, which we incorporated into our performance. That poem in the form of a letter is included below. We created the poem by asking the participants what makes them happy.

We took our cue from Abby’s poem and while performing the poem and we all strummed imaginary "air-guitars."

Ballad of the Happy Guitar
A happy guitar,
with my husband.
Everything makes me happy.
Anyone makes me happy.
To dance makes me happy.
The Owl and the Pussy Cat!
Having you here.
It’s nothing immediate.
The sound a mandolin
makes me happy.
My father played
the mandolin.
I want to dance some more!
When I am feeling well
and I have good people with me,
that makes me happy.

Dear Mom,

I remember a song called
“The Sad Guitar.”
You sang it
to Sylvia and Liz and Me
when we were little girls.
We loved it.
You strummed it for us
on an air guitar
whenever we wanted
to hear it.
The guitar was sad
but you make us happy.

Love,
Abby

Strumming Air Guitars

APP in Seoul, South Korea

Azaleas

by Kim So-wol

(Translation by Brother Anthony)

When seeing me sickens you

and you walk out

I'll send you off without a word, no fuss.

Yongbyon's mount Yaksan's

azaleas

by the armful I'll scatter in your path.

With parting steps

on those strewn flowers

treading lightly, go on, leave.

When seeing me sickens you

and you walk out

why, I'd rather die than weep one tear.

APP workshop in Seoul, South Korea on Nov. 1st, 2012 This workshop was led by Gary Glazner and Michelle Otero on using poetry to enhance the creativity of people living with dementia through the performance and creation of poetry. The workshop was sponsored by the Koran Art and Culture Education Service. KACES is a government agency under Ministry of Culture supporting arts and culture education through Korea in many different arts field - public schools and communities including childcare centers, facilities for the elderly/the disabled, military officers and correctional facilities. More info at: http://eng.arte.or.kr/arte_eng/index.jsp

Jelly Fish

A special session of the Memory Arts Café took place on Saturday, October 13th, as part of
Parachute: the Coney Island Performance Festival at the New York Aquarium.

Dementia Arts Festival

National Center for Creative Aging & Alzheimer’s Poetry Project Present Dementia Arts Festival

We are thrilled to announce a series of performances focused on bringing attention to the expanding opportunities the arts bring to people with Alzheimer’s. The events take place at Washington DC assisted living and adult day care centers in support of the National Alzheimer’s Plan Act. For a full festival schedule please see dementiaarts.com.

Memory Arts Café Performance Thursday, September 20th, 6 to 8pm Iona Senior Services, 4125 Albemarle Street, Washington, DC 20016.

You are invited to a performance for people living with Alzheimer’s disease, their caregivers and the general public. New Mexico poet Stuart Hall reads work documenting his experience in living with dementia. Maria Genne, Kairos Dance and Judith-Kate Friedman, Songwriting Works and Gary Glazner, Alzheimer’s Poetry Project will lead the audience in the creation of a new performance. The event includes light refreshments and the opportunity to chat with the guest artists. We are excited to show an excerpt from Anne Bastings’ film “Penelope Project,” which documents the performance of using the Penelope story from Homer’s Odyssey to engage an entire long-term care community in the creative process and Songwriting Works’ new music video, “WWII Homecoming Song.”

Sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association Washington DC Chapter, Center for Aging Heath and Humanities, Generations United, Iona Senior Services, and the Society Arts and Healthcare with support from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, the Helen Bader Foundation, the MetLife Foundation and the Pabst Charitable Foundation for the Arts.

Memory Arts Café

New York Memory Center & Alzheimer’s Poetry Project Launch

New York State’s First Memory Arts Café

Memory Arts Café is a new series of free art events for people living with Alzheimer’s disease, their caregivers and the general public, and is co-produced by New York Memory Center and the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project. The series takes place on the 2nd Wednesday of each month and includes light refreshments and the opportunity to chat with the guest artists. 

Wednesday, June 13 at 6 pm

New York Memory Center

199 14th Street at 4^th Avenue • Brooklyn, NY 11215

(Take the R to Prospect Ave.)

For info: call (718) 499-7701 or visit alzpoetry.com

About the performers:

Legendary jazz critic, Nat Hentoff, has praised Roger’s work as "the most joyously encouraging way of expanding the audience for jazz."  In partnership with the NYC Alzheimer Association Chapter and jazz singer, Peter Eldridge, Ms. Rogers has produced two Alzheimer's benefit concerts entitled “For Those We Love.” (louiserogers.org)

The Boston Globe wrote of pianist, composer, educator, and bandleader Mark Kross "Kross digs hard with a bright contemporary piano style with Monkish bop influences.” He is the Head of the Music Department at the Middlesex School, an independent high school in Concord, MA and has released five CD’s with his band, The Mark Kross Five-Piece Trio.

About the producers:
Founded in 1983, the mission of New York Memory Center is to help older adults who have cognitive, physical, and emotional limitations, to maintain or improve their level of functioning so that they may enjoy their later years at home and within the community. Through an innovative wellness center, New York Memory Center meets the needs of individuals living with Alzheimer’s and related dementia disorders and their Caregivers. NYMC offers two primary programs: Lotus Club, an early intervention and support program for those experiencing the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s and related dementias; and Memory Life Services, a program which provides more extensive services suitable for adults in the community with middle to later stage memory loss. For additional information, please visit nymemorycenter.org.

Gary Glazner founded the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project (APP) in 2004. The APP was awarded the 2012 MetLife Foundation Creativity and Aging in America Leadership Award in the category of Community Engagement. The National Endowment for the Arts listed the APP as a “best practice” for their Arts and Aging initiative. NBC's “Today” show, NPR's “All Things Considered” and Voice of America have featured segments on the APP.

Poetry at MoMA

Picasso! Rousseau! Van Gogh! This "art cheer," celebrates the 3 artists highlighted during the Dec. 13th, 2011, session of Meet Me at MoMA. The session was co-lead by Francesca Rosenberg, Director of Community and Access Programs and APP director Gary Glazner. More on Meet Me at MoMA at: http://www.moma.org/meetme/index

APP in the News