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CECD
and Mindscapes 2008:
The Third International Conference
on Creative Expression, Communication and Dementia
Mindscapes 2008 at
Emily Carr University
The
CECD Conference took place at Emily Carr University, May 30 and 31,
2008 on
Granville Island in Vancouver, in conjunction with
Mindscapes 2008, an exhibition of art produced by seniors with
dementia. The conference events attracted about 70 participants,
with 80 people attending the concert on Friday night and 55 people
at the dinner party at the Granville Island Hotel. The art
exhibition continues till June 14th
and may then tour to other locations. These events were graciously
sponsored by Canada Post, Pfizer, Tom Lee Music and the Society for
the Arts in Dementia Care.
Although we anticipated a larger number of participants, the
conference turned out to be the best in the series the Society has
hosted over the last four years. The invited speakers were excellent
and presented inspiring talks on various aspects of issues, from Dr.
Janice Graham's discussion of the ethical rights of people with
dementia, to Dr. Shaun McNiff's review of the existing constraints
on those who try to cross the boundaries from field to field,
specifically in creative expression programs.
We were
mesmerized by the presentation of Dr. Elinor Fuchs as she recounted
conversations from deep within her mother’s dementia and the insight
she gained in interacting with her. It was very comforting to listen
to Dr. Remi Quirion, our keynote speaker and a great supporter of
our Society, who is one of the top scientists in Canada, and who has
an abiding appreciation for the arts as a healing force in dementia
care.
Dr.
Susan McFadden, as always. inspired us with her elegant and
thoughtful presentation on the value of nourishing spirituality in
dementia care. Listening to her brought home the message that
spirituality is an essential quality in all humans, which we need to
encourage and protect.
We
laughed and cried with Dr. Peter Spitzer who came all the way from
Australia to present and what a presentation it was. This is
something that needs to be seen. So much passion, love
 and care came
out of that big heart and red nose. Dr. Spitzer was accompanied by
Dr. Ruth Bright, an educational icon in the music therapy world.
Close to 80 years old, she made her way from Australia to join our
conference because she thought our Society was doing important work.
Her presentation was filled with gems from her years of experience
working with people with reduced abilities. Dr. Bright took
advantage of the two wonderful pianos that Tom Lee Music loaned us.
She gave us short demonstrations of how she uses piano playing when
interacting with people with dementia. The audience just loved it
and gave her a standing ovation.
The
biggest surprise was Katherine Tums, who stepped in to replace Dr.
Baines of Australia. This was Katherine's first time presenting at a
conference. With calm and confidence, she demonstrated her work with
clients in Adelaide. I know that several people in the audience are
now corresponding with her. This is exactly what we hoped would
happen during and after the conference took place.
Last
but not least, we heard Hilary Lee, our Society colleague from
Perth, Australia. She
described her master's thesis, examining the Spark of Life program
developed by Jane Verity, and the positive changes that result when
a program like this is provided with care, love and dignity. Hilary
has collaborated with Drs. Dalia Gottlieb-Tanaka and Peter Graf in
developing an assessment tool for creative expression abilities in
seniors with dementia. Their presentation generated a great deal of
interest and, given the emails asking about it that have continued
to come since the conference, we are more convinced than ever that
the tool can provide timely and necessary information for creative
expression facilitators in dementia care.
In addition to the
conference presentations, the Society sponsored a piano concert that
featured the celebrated
artists, Tami Kanazawa and Yuval Admony, from Israel and Japan. This
husband and wife team dazzled us with their technical prowess and
delighted us with their musical abilities.
The conference is now
over but plans for future events are already underway. The next
International conference is planned to take place in Perth,
Australia under the direction of Hilary Lee and her Executive
Board. We have also been approached as a Society to hold our
Canadian events at other locations in Canada. As we solidify our
plans, we will be able to give you more details.
Meanwhile, we would
like to thank our presenters and participants for their continuing
support. We wish you all the best in your endeavors and we hope to
see you again at our next events.
From left to right: Dalia Gottlieb-Tanaka, Ruth Bright, Peter Spitzer,
Katherine Tumes and Hilary Lee at the back.
Have a great summer
Dalia Gottlieb-Tanaka and Hilary Lee
on behalf of the Society for the Arts in Dementia Care
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