Art helps those suffering from dimentia.
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PINEDALE – This fall, the Pinedale
Fine Arts Council debuted a new series
of community arts programming specifically
targeted to local seniors. The new
Elder Care Programs began in September
with “Firsts – An Evening of Stories by Seniors,”
where six local seniors on the Rendezvous
Pointe stage told long-form stories
to a crowd of more than 70 people.
In October, PFAC premiered its “Here
and Now” program – a cognitive-based art
class where 11 seniors and a handful of volunteers
gathered at the Sublette Center for
an afternoon of still-life painting.
Here and Now, which is instructed by
local artist and owner of Pinedale Art and
Craft Mae Orm, is designed to provide a
supportive environment for seniors and
their loved ones where they have a chance
to experience sensory and intellectual
stimulation, communicate through art and
explore various art media including paint,
clay, collage and printmaking.
While PFAC has hoped to expand its
community programming to target seniors
for years, it was receiving funding from
The Laura Jane Musser Fund, a nationwide
granting organization, which finally got the
ball rolling.
“PFAC has been providing free tickets to
Sublette Center and the Southwest Sublette
County Pioneer Center for years,” says Kari
DeWitt, PFAC director. “Seeing firsthand
the positive benefits those performances
have had on our senior population really got
us to thinking that there was a lot more we
could be doing for our elder population. To
be awarded a national grant from the Laura
Jane Musser Fund to launch these programs
is quite an honor.”
Established by the estate of Laura Jane
Musser of Little Falls, Minn., to continue
the personal philanthropy, which she practiced
in her lifetime, the Musser Grant is
a very competitive grant, something PFAC
knows all too well.
In addition to “Firsts” and “Here and
Now,” both of which are offered in Pinedale
and Big Piney, PFAC will be premiering
its third program “TimeSlips” this
spring. Tailored to seniors living with dementia,
“TimeSlips” uses visual art to open
storytelling to everyone by replacing the
pressure to remember with the freedom to
imagine.
For more information on PFAC’s new
Elder Care Programming, visit pinedalefinearts.
com.