Minding Memory: Alzheimer’s and the Arts
Film Screening and Panel Discussion

Date: Fri, Mar 29, 2019 07:00PM
Price: $20, $18 Friends, $12 students and seniors

Join us as we explore the powerful benefits of the arts for those living with dementia. We begin the evening with I Remember Better When I Paint (2009), an uplifting documentary about the astounding therapeutic effects of art.

We continue with a panel session featuring experts in the field of memory impairment, including the documentary’s co-director Berna Huebner, Kendelle LaBella from the Alzheimer Society of Toronto, and Melissa Tafler from the Baycrest Centre for Learning, Research and Innovation. Neurologist Dr. Sharon Cohen moderates this conversation about how creative therapies are changing the way we look at Alzheimer’s.

Today 50 million people around the world suffer from dementia, a number which is expected to reach 75 million by 2030, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International. The Aga Khan Museum is committed to furthering the conversation on how those affected, and their caregivers, can benefit from the power of art.

This event is part of our week-long Minding Memory: Alzheimer’s and the Arts programming, presented in collaboration with the Alzheimer Society of Toronto and Baycrest Health Sciences.

Bios:

Dr. Sharon Cohen is a behavioural neurologist and former Speech Language Pathologist. She holds an FRCPC from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and she is the medical director of Toronto Memory Program, one of Canada’s most active memory clinics and research centres. For the past 25 years, her efforts have been focused on improving treatment for those with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Dr. Cohen’s centre has received awards for superior quality in research and holds the distinction of being a member of the Global Alzheimer’s Platform. Dr. Cohen represents Canada on numerous international advisory boards and steering committees. She is a frequent lecturer and contributes to media events, including those on medical ethics. She is also known for her advocacy of individuals with neurodegenerative diseases.

Berna G. Huebner is co-director and associate producer of I Remember Better When I Paint. She is President and Founder of the Hilgos Foundation, which supports ongoing artistic creation for those with dementia. Huebner serves on the Board of Directors of Arts & Minds, Advisory Council of See Me program at the Smithsonian Museums, and as a Director of the Center for the Study of International Communications in Paris. She was also a member of Boston University School of Medicine Alzheimer’s Board. Previously she served as Research Director for Nelson Rockefeller when he was both Governor of New York and Vice-President of the United States.

Kendelle LaBella is a Care Navigator at the Alzheimer Society of Toronto. In this role, she assists persons living with dementia and their care partners to navigate what can be a very convoluted and confusing healthcare system. She has over eight years of experience working with Toronto’s older adult population in a variety of capacities and settings: community centre, shelter, long-term care, dementia care home, Toronto Community Housing Supportive Housing, non-profit senior agency, and adult day programs. She is a graduate of Seneca’s Social Service Worker – Gerontology program and she now serves there as a guest lecturer.

Melissa Tafler is the coordinator of the Arts and Health program at Baycrest, and an interprofessional arts-based learning specialist at the Baycrest Centre for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care. Her role includes the integration of arts-based approaches into front-line intervention, education of healthcare staff and students, and research across the field of aging and brain health. She has developed curriculum that uses the arts to teach clinical and reflective skills, and she leads workshops on using applied social theatre and visual thinking strategies to enhance competencies in health care teams.