Creativity and Dementia: A Special Event With Anne Basting

Anne Basting, an internationally recognized thought leader on using creativity to improve the quality of our lives, will share with us how play and imagination can bring joy, meaning, and connection to people living with dementia.

This program is designed for anyone who creates or facilitates programs for people with dementia. This program is also for care partners, loved ones, and family members who are engaged with people with dementia.

Dr. Basting will discuss the following:

• How can community organizations such as museums, libraries, theater companies, and dance companies use creativity to make better programs for people living with dementia?
• What tools, tricks, and practical advice does Dr. Basting have for community organizations and care partners?
• How can care partners use creativity at home in their day-to-day caregiving experience to bring meaning, joy, and connection to people living with dementia?
• What does the research show about the impact of creative engagement on the lives of people living with dementia?
• What is the concept of personhood and what are the psychological needs of people living with dementia?

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR THIS EVENT. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER or email olderadults@denverlibrary.org

This event is presented in partnership with the Multidisciplinary Center on Aging at the University of Colorado Anschutz and the Alzheimer's and Cognition Center at CU Anschutz.

Accessibility Information:

This event is being held at the Sam Gary Branch library, which has onsite parking and accessible bathrooms. We will be using a microphone at the event, and all activities will be on the ground floor.

About the Speaker:

Anne Basting is a writer, artist and advocate for the power of creativity to transform our lives. She is Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and Founder of the award-winning non-profit TimeSlips.org, which trains, inspires, and supports caregivers to infuse creativity into care. Her writing and large-scale public performances have helped shape an international movement to extend creative and meaningful expression from childhood, where it is expected, through to late life, where it has been too long withheld.

Her books include Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Elder and Dementia Care (Harper), Penelope: An Arts-based Odyssey to Transform Eldercare (U of Iowa), and Forget Memory: Creating Better Lives for People with Dementia (Johns Hopkins). Internationally recognized for her speaking and her innovative work, Anne is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and numerous major awards and grants. She believes that creative engagement can and should be infused into every aging care system and has trained/consulted with Meals on Wheels, libraries, home care companies, senior centers, memory cafes, museums, adult day programs, and every level of long-term care.