DALLAS TWP. – The Misericordia University Medical and Health Humanities Program and the Department of English are presenting the free program, “Dementia Narratives – The ‘Long Goodbye’ or ‘Something Different,’” by Susan Shifrin, Ph.D., founder and executive director of ARTZ Philadelphia on Monday, April 30 in the Catherine Evans McGowan of the Mary Kintz Bevevino Library.
The program begins with a poetry reading in honor of Sandy Berbabeo Pecchia from 3 to 5 p.m. Vanessa Pecchia Botzman, wife of Misericordia University President Thomas J. Botzman, Ph.D., is sponsoring the poetry reading in honor of her aunt.
Dr. Shifrin’s lecture follows the poetry reading from 5 to 6 p.m. ARTZ Philadelphia is a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for people living with dementia in the Greater Philadelphia region and their families. Dr. Shifrin will discuss the beneficial impact of art on people living with dementia.
Dr. Shifrin is an art historian and curator who has worked at numerous museums along the East Coast. She holds a Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College. She was inspired to start ARTZ Philadelphia after hosting programs for visitors with dementia at museums where she worked. She watched people with dementia “come alive” and respond to art, talking about art with each other, their caregivers and museum staff. According to Dr. Shifrin, she witnessed art become a vehicle for self-expression, interaction, creativity, mutual respect and joy.
Dr. Shifrin recently launched the collaboration, “ARTZ @ Jefferson,’’ with Thomas Jefferson University in which people living with dementia and their care partners mentor students in the medical and other health professions at Jefferson each semester. Dr. Shifrin has published numerous articles on the intersections of the arts and dementia, and has been the keynote speaker at professional conferences in the United States and abroad. Recently, she spoke at the inaugural International Research Conference on Arts and Dementia at the Royal Society for Public Health in London.
