ARTISTIC CONNECTION
Remembering Through Art tours reach out to those with dementia
June MaGee held her husband’s hand as they studied the Andy Warhol portrait of a young Wayne Gretzky.
“He really got his face great,” MaGee said of Warhol’s depiction of the Canadian hockey icon that hangs on the third floor of the Art Gallery of Windsor. “He’s a good looking man, even now.”
June and Cleveland MaGee were part of a small group on a guided tour of several art works Thursday through a new initiative by the Alzheimer Society Windsor-Essex County.
June, 79, was diagnosed four years ago with vascular dementia. She struggles daily with memory loss caused by impaired blood flow to the brain.
Remembering Through Art is a way for June and others to simply enjoy a pleasant outing.
“For those with dementia and their care partners, it can be incredibly isolating,” said Sarah Overton, the society’s education and support co-ordinator. “This is a great way for them to connect with other people with dementia without that being the focus.”
The MaGees regularly attend the society’s Memory Cafe and were game to try the art tours too.
“It certainly gets the mind stimulated and thinking,” 81-year-old Cleveland said. “You look at a picture and think that’s pretty but how (curator Chris Finn) looks so much deeper than that, the next time we come, I’m going to look at it completely different.”
Finn, the gallery’s curator of education, skilfully led the group through a straightforward but interesting discussion of the use of lines, colour, shape and spacing in each piece they paused at while nudging participants to offer their own thoughts.
“I love finding out how the artists do all these things,” June said afterwards.
The MaGees were part of a recent test group that did an hourlong tour with Finn to gauge interest and response, and June was so taken with it, she went out and bought some pencils and started colouring on her own.
“I’ll probably forget this by tomorrow, but we still try to keep busy,” she said.
Through a sponsorship by gallery patron Mary Weingarden, the Alzheimer Society will offer a Remembering Through Art tour on the first Thursday of each month for a year.
“People with dementia and their care partners are still looking for social things to do,” Overton said. “Maybe they can’t continue their lives the same way as before but they still want to do things. This is engaging in a different way. People with dementia live in the moment, this is creating moments of enjoyment.”
Art galleries across North America, including the Art Gallery of Ontario, are offering similar tours.
The next Remembering tour is Dec. 7. For more information, visit the society’s website at www. alzheimerwindsor.com or call at 519-974-2220.
“You don’t need an art background to come out and enjoy this,” Overton said. “It’s about sharing a memory and the experience.”