Nipissing student assisting with Alzheimer Art Auction fundraiser

Attention all artists!  Rebecca Roberston, a student in Nipissing’s Bachelor of Physical Health and Education program, is helping to coordinate an art auction in support of the Alzheimer Society of North Bay.

Art to Remember– A Fundraiser and Auction will be held on Friday, November 9, at 7 p.m. at the WKP Kennedy Gallery. The organizers are asking for any interested artists to donate their work for the auction. Funds raised will help sustain the Alzheimer Society’s Dementia Art Program with a portion of the proceeds to support the WKP Kennedy Gallery. Any form of artwork will be accepted for this event including, photography, paintings, drawings and jewelry. In return, the Alzheimers Society will provide two complimentary tickets for the auction as well as a tax receipt in the amount that the art sells for at the auction. The submission deadline for art is November 5. Art can be donated to the Alzheimer Society Office, 1180 Cassells Street. Please speak to Andrea Parolin or Ashleigh Riley who will receive the artwork, during regular working hours, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. For more information, including the requisite art donation forms, please visit the website, here. The Dementia Art Program has allowed an in-house Art Program Coordinator to directly service people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. By conducting therapeutic art sessions in the district’s long-term care centres, retirement homes, North Bay Regional Health Centre, St. Joseph Mother House, as well as public art sessions, the Alzheimer Society is able to provide an hour dedicated to the needs of the individuals living with the disease, allowing for a sense of accomplishment and self-worth. This hour of therapeutic art improves mood and behaviours, reduces anxiety and provides clients with a new way to communicate, as words are often lost. The program engages many of the best practices for dementia care, including socialization and interaction with others, a structured routine program that involves consistency, non-verbal activity, and the guarantee for successful outcomes. This program truly dispels the misconception that individuals with dementia are lost forever. Instead, by viewing their art, we learn that they are still here, only in different ways.