over the course of our time together
these past past few days we've talked a
lot about the rewards of these programs
and the relationships that are built and
the incredible opportunity to really get
to know our visitors and to see those
visitors time and time again and that's
certainly one of the things we have
enjoyed most here at the Nasher and so
as we were planning for this conference
it was really important to us to be able
to include the voices of those visitors
and that T we have with us this morning
and we're thrilled to welcome them so we
have Vonda and Tom who has been part of
the program in the past year and have
been attending our tours and then Debbie
who has been joining us I believe since
the beginning I don't think since we
first started our tours over three years
ago Devi has been draining us and been
part of this community all thanks to the
hard work of Lisa Glaser he is our
partner here at Duke Family Support
Program and helped us to originally
launched this program and then also at
the table we have sandy Beeman who is
one of our reflections gallery guides
and will be providing that experience to
this conversation so with that I'm going
to turn it over thank you all we decided
that it would be best to start from the
participants point of view so I'm going
to ask
sonda and Tom in whatever order to just
start talking
so verify I'm the one that has cognitive
problems so we started attending the
Nasher Museum programs the lunch and
learns maybe about the year ago Tom was
diagnosed in 2012 and had had some
symptoms earlier than that in 2011 and
we've I've attended probably around 6 or
the programs I continue to work so I've
missed some but when of the nice things
has been that Tom has still been able to
come and I have to say I was haven't
made time for art in my life I'm a
see I teach nursing Public Health
nursing and it's just with raising two
kids and just the normal keeping things
going art has kind of dropped off the
radar and the programs here have really
been fabulous it's just enriched me and
so personally so one thought is to
remember that this program is not just
for the people with the disease it is
for the family unit you know for the
caregivers who are also at risk for
issues so it's just been stimulating to
me it's been enriching it's a great
opportunity to talk with the other
people that we have met or get to meet
other caregivers other people that are
struggling in the same ways that we are
and that docents are just wonderful so I
I just have to say it's a fabulous
program and I'm really fortunate and
very grateful for the partnerships that
have undergirded this and made this
available and it's just really valuable
she usually does mostly I think what's
really been the most meaningful to me is
you know most of the time I'm alone I
actually love to work with my hands so I
keep my brain active by fixing things
solving things volunteering and those
kinds of things there will be a point
probably sometime soon where I won't be
able to drive anymore but I'm still I
passed a test actually was it six months
ago or something so but um so if you see
me driving you know I think I'm still
allowed to drive so but anyway um I
guess one of the things that I even were
talking about the programs here one of
the things I really have appreciated is
the docents and they're open
this to engaging us as part of the
participants and let you know I guess
what I've enjoyed is is the mental
stimulation because when you're looking
at a piece of artwork there's a lot of
things that kind of spin in your head
things that you make connection with
connections with even going back a
number of years for example I know that
there was a exhibit you know I don't
know maybe it was a year ago or
something like that but you know it had
to do with sort of a lot of the pictures
uh in the Appalachian Mountains
and I have spent a lot of time doing
that backpacking and hiking and knowing
something about the Appalachian culture
so that that stimulated me and I guess
what I enjoyed doing is not so much
always asking questions but making
comments on what I was observing with
the art and he sometimes would have
discussions as we move around so that
was very it was better sitting at home
I'll tell you that and I'm more
stimulating for me and I've never never
been a person that like spent hours and
hours and Minicon too many art museums
but I've gone to a fair amount and I
really appreciate that and you may have
heard as well as about the afterward
oftentimes of the tour there's some time
where we kind of create things so we're
drawing and you've probably heard about
that so I won't go into that it's okay
to go into that well
again Nick again that act that has it
been really good for me to sort of
activate not only I'm not creating what
I saw but drawing and doing all kinds of
other art work has has been has been
very useful to me to engage and to share
with others oftentimes we have a lot of
these materials in front of us and we're
all kind of sitting around you know hey
can I borrow
so there's again more interactions what
surprised you the most about your
experience here
well again most of my experiences with
arted to spend like walking around with
museum with no interaction you know
looking at you know some visual artwork
and I guess what's meant a lot to me is
that it's the experience is more than
just looking at artists standing there
in front of a piece of art and
discussing it and the dozens have been
very good about asking questions and
again I enjoy answering questions and
asking questions so that's been a very
good thing for me to continue to
stimulate my thinking and to appreciate
our more than probably I've done in the
past Tom can I just say we've also at
least I've really appreciated the I mean
I've learned a lot about the artist and
about the time period and it just
creates a lot of new perspective so it's
really helping our respective neurons to
grow and connect matter so I think all
in all it's really great for brain
health but that doesn't sometimes I've
had additional pictures or video clips
to to augment that you know really
learning about that one artist and the
artwork that he or she created and to me
that it's just been really exciting to
feel better connected with the artist
and I really appreciated the music
they'll bring in small groups that will
come and play most of it it's acoustical
music and oftentimes it's somewhat
related to the gallery that has work
that might kind of connect in some way
but that's been very meaningful to me as
well one thing that is unique I think
about your experiences
Tom because of their relationship with
our larger early-stage Alzheimer's
community has been able to make has a
friend who also has a working wife and
sometimes the two guys have been able to
come to this together and that allowed
him to participate when Fonda wasn't
able to and I don't know Thunder Tom do
you want to say anything about that if
that's sort of an ad hoc to this program
but it didn't make a difference I think
I think so yes it's nice to number one
we get to know participants in the
Alzheimer groups and it's great to be in
a different venue and to interact with
them and share things with them as well
you know that's been really valuable
because I'll miss the programs in the
fall and spring because I'll be teaching
again on Wednesdays and it is so it's
comforting for me to know that tom has
still has an opportunity to take
advantage of even though I can't you
know be with him and I know the group is
always very welcoming in supportive both
of them coming together or with his wife
when she can come so we we try to trade
on some people may not know about the
music component we call our group within
reflections we call it look and lunch
except every other month when it's look
listen and lunch and that's because
we've been that able and we're even
really fortunate that Jessica was able
to add music some of which I guess you
heard yesterday one of the musicians
that played for us was here yesterday
and that was also I mean I think that's
been a great addition it's been stellar
music we had a sitar I volunteered in
India so that brought lots of wonderful
memories back for me to hear that music
again created again a lot of global
opportunities to be thinking about that
we are global society
and it's just been excellent I mean and
you're real close you get to see the
performer and I think it's good for the
performer to to to know that the
audience looks like anybody else but you
know some of the members are having
significant problems I want to say
anything about lunch that's a part of
the program hmm well lunch is optional
for most people's day and it's been very
nice to socialize and so either you
attend the hour and a half 10:30 to
12:00 to or in the morning and then stay
for lunch or you come early and you
attend the 1:30 to 3 program so lunch is
leisurely we all sit together and you
know put tables together and not all of
us together but we're close enough that
we can converse and move around if we if
we want to food is great it's nice to
get out not to cook not to deal with
dishes so yes that's definitely an added
bonus and it's nice to support the
museum anything else that you'd like to
mention about the effect of the program
on you I think I may come more often
because Sanda has to work many times I
guess if again it stimulates me and
again I meet new people and I appreciate
different docents that have different
perspectives and they seem very open to
having participation in questions at
just slightly not so much like a
didactic approach but they encourage
people who want to ask questions and
then oftentimes in the gallery there's
there's a discussion right in front of
the piece of artwork because a lot of
people want to sort of chime in
and as questions move on to Debbie's
okay well I was in on the bottom floor
of the program when it started and my
husband Tony and I moved down here from
the Eastern Shore almost three years ago
and he died last year of Lewy body and
Alzheimer's but he came all the time I
mean we came every month and I have to
say that there you were
I was said I was going to bring that up
he had had great speech difficulty right
off the bat and the docents bent over
backwards to try and understand what he
was trying to say and we're patient and
they got it I mean me I can't say enough
about the docents they they are the
things that people who make the program
because we could come in here and be
totally relaxed I didn't have to worry
somebody was going to start you know
acting a little funny when when Tony
couldn't say what he wanted to say and
and yet they just took care of it
beautifully he enjoyed it it was a place
where he could come and not worry about
anything he was totally relaxed and he
wasn't agitated and you know it was just
it was it was just great and we always
had name tags which I think helps the
docents because you know when you've got
a whole bunch of people that you don't
see all the time you can't remember
their names and I think it made everyone
of us feel much more welcomed to be
addressed by name and and it made you
part of the group and that picture one
of the programs we we were doing
something to do it with costumes we were
looking at different different costumes
and so they had
these racks of clothes and hats and furs
and all this stuff and that told us to
go pick him out and put him on and Tony
had a ball that he just he just
thoroughly clicked and and really
enjoyed it and another one that we had
which made me I still chuckle I've got a
picture of it we were doing looking at
different kinds of old masks and heavy
you know some are working to everything
well they had some rubber ones big full
rubber masks and guess who put them on
and just had a ball yeah and I've got a
picture of him with this big green head
and we enjoyed the the lunch part Tony
Tony loved coming here and seeing his
friends I mean it was it was it was a
part of just really where you could come
and relax and we'd learn about pictures
and learned about different types of art
but felt very welcomed and and just you
didn't have to worry about anything and
the last last few months of his life he
was not that great but he came and he
stayed in tune with it he really stayed
in tune with it and and it's it's I
enjoy it today I mean I get to come
anyway even though I've lost him and
they're very and I remember the first
the first time I came after he died all
the docents right there giving me a big
hug and make me feel just as welcome and
I get a lot out of the program I know
the caregivers get a tremendous amount
out of it I never liked Tom was saying
you know you go into museum and look at
art and if you're just walking through
it you just kind of walk through and if
nobody is there telling you something
about it there are a lot of things you
miss and where we come and we sit down
in front of the painting and the docent
might say well what do you see
and then you start looking at the
picture and it's absolutely amazing how
much I have learned that you look and
you just see so much and that I think
that one of the big things about the
program is that just when there's a
whole bunch of us looking at at a pane
you come up with many many different
ideas and many many ideas that I never
would have thought of in the world but
it's it's a great program and we've also
enjoyed the music and one day we played
with clay I don't know what we were
doing but we were all given a hunk of
clay and so I don't I made I think I
made a little Bowl well Tony wasn't into
making too many things like that but he
ended up making this big long wall it
was about that taller that was just and
what is it's a wall okay that's what he
wanted and we did screen painting one
time which that was it there was a lot
of fun and we also did something one
time where we all colored pieces on a
paper and then it was all put together
it was good they had drawn it was a
pattern and then cut up in little
squares and we all colored our own
squares and then put them together and
when it was all together it was
fascinating so they come up with good
ideas for us and I thoroughly enjoyed
the program and I know I know my husband
did I think it was a just a super time
that he could come and have a good time
and we could forget about other things
that were going on so I thoroughly enjoy
it very much today
there anything that surprised you about
the programme or about Tony's response
to the program well some of the things
surprised I mean he really some of
things he really clicked them and I know
there were some things that maybe he
didn't but but so much he did and he
joyed the other thing I do remember he
enjoyed trying to answer what the docent
would ask a question and it might be
very difficult for him to answer but but
they would keep at it long enough so
they knew what he wanted and and it was
it was very difficult for him to talk
and but they were extremely patient and
I cannot thank the docent enough for
what you do
make the program that's great I also
remember how Tom talked about making
connections to the past like the
Appalachian Mountain things well Debbie
made a really unique connection when she
was here one time we were looking at
tapestries woven tapestries and it turns
out that Debbie in a former life and I
didn't even know this about you was an
incredibly accomplished rug maker and so
she agreed the next month to bring in
some of her rugs and we were able to all
have a chance to see the rugs and to
talk about it and make the connection
even though it was a month later that
was where I review yeah are there other
things that you think are important to
bring up about the program I'm sure
there I have to say that Debbie isn't
the only widow or widower who is
participating in the program and I think
it enriches our experience to have these
people here who are so knowledgeable and
so experienced and want us to hang in
there with us and I think that's also
been unique well you're everybody's to
come my friend and we're like a big
family
and it's a great feeling
superfood not just among the visitors I
think but also I have never had the
experience of going into a museum and
knowing has to staff I know are you see
everybody that's working there you know
half of them by sight and a lot of them
by name and they know your name and then
and there so the welcoming I think
aspect is real or really important I'm a
social worker I'm involved with the
support program that these people are
all part of and I think what's unique
about this program was that when Jessica
and I first talked about it in one of
those classrooms many years ago what we
realized was people would may not be
willing to participate in something with
a group of strangers and so we brought
in a group of people who were already
connected and already meeting regularly
and I think that this program has really
strengthened our sense of community and
community with Durham community with
being partners with a museum and
community among ourselves it's a place
where we can regularly go to meet our
friends where we are not talking about
stress we are not talking about our
problems it's not a support group in a
formal sense that you go and talk about
coping with issues this is a fresh
experience one of the things I think
people have gained from this is also a
fresh perspective on their partners and
I've heard this from many of the
families is that you know I never knew
my husband knew that or I never knew he
had been to that place and things come
out old memories are jogged and so for
example we had one couple who came and
they'd never even been in museums and
that day we had a music program and we
had
flamenco musician and he brought a drum
and the man who was not really into art
at all got up when invited and started
playing the drum well it turns out he
had played the drum and his wife of many
many years didn't know that had never
known that he had that background and he
was never really able to talk about it
but he had a wonderful time we had a
great time watching him and I think the
other thing is in the interactive art
programs we found people who have
incredibley hidden talent including Tony
and who are suddenly able to look at
what they can do in a whole new way and
their partners and their friends from
the group are also able to look at it in
a whole new way I just want to make a
couple of comments from the staff
perspective about what I think makes
this program really work in addition to
the fabulous the fabulous doses and
Jessica and everyone on the staff here
and that is all the behind the scenes
work in terms of logistics what makes
this program work for us is that we send
out reminders once a month who's coming
what the program is Jessica tells us
what to expect what the sometimes what
the theme is sometimes what the music is
going to be about and we get that out to
everyone in our two groups who might
participate in this and then they have a
chance to respond and they can respond
to a be master who is the linchpin
behind all of this
and is the social worker at in our group
in addition to Ginelli smith who's
sitting right there
who has also been involved from the
almost from the last two years every
time but Bobby is the communication
point and up until people have things
that happen to them in their daily life
so they can plan a week in advance they
can sign up for lunch so that we know in
advance how to arrange the tables and
how to reserve our tables for our group
so that they can go right into lunch and
meet each other at lunch the morning in
the afternoon groups meet well that
takes a heck of a lot of behind the
scenes logistics so we appreciate it but
it's just I mean it's not me it's Bobby
and Janelle a for the most part they
really make that work and one of the
things they do is they give out their so
numbers and so the people if something
happens last minute we have people who
get lost who we said intricate GPS
directions and parking directions and
everything but people get lost they get
delayed something happens and they can
always let us know whether to wait for
them or not and then they get here and
jessica has these wonderful large print
nametags waiting for us and I agree with
you all that the name tags really help
people like being called by their names
and they also like being reminded of the
other people's name we're all not very
good with names so I think that's
another thing that helps I think the
unique features of this program are that
we all have something we can learn
that's new and fresh I think we all also
learn from the different styles of the
docents and we learn one of the things
I've learned from this is that just like
in support groups it's not all doom and
gloom there's a ton of humor that is
brought out by contemporary art and it's
brought out by the people in our group
and their responses to each other and
and that makes it fun I would think for
the docents as well as for us I have one
confession to make when I first started
talking with Jessica and the former
director of the program about getting
this started it was purely personal
I had minored in college 100 years ago
in art history I had always wanted to be
in a museum and I wanted to find a way
to make this program work within the
context of my day job but I had no idea
what how creative a program could be as
it developed around a specific group of
people who stayed relatively
consistently we added new people we went
from one group a day I mean once a month
to two groups would once a month
we're now up to putting caps and we tell
people it's first-come first-serve and
they answer Bobby's emails within 3
minutes of the time she sends them out
because they're afraid that they won't
get in to that month's program so we
have turned something that we wanted to
do into something in the community
that's recognized as really hot and
really desirable and something that
other communities want to emulate and I
think a lot of that is attributable to
the incredible dedication and creativity
of the staff who are willing to learn
from all the models but we made this our
own and there is no other program like
the Nasher and we have one man in our
group who whenever he refers to any
group gathering of our support groups no
matter what context it's in calls all of
them the Nasher
and everything good in his life is well
are we going to the Nasher today whether
it's a support group meeting are another
event that lecture whatever it's the
Nasher and I think part of it is the
pictures you're seeing up there they
really say it all so I didn't mean to
take all your time sanding but feel like
I saved the best for last
I first of all just want to say how
grateful I am to be part of this
community and and that's really what it
feels like to I think all of us who are
gallery guides in this program and I'm
not going to try to represent everybody
here I'm just going to tell you a little
bit about me and and what I've gained
from this and I was thinking over the
last couple of days about what I wanted
to say and I thought about that first
exercise we did about identity right and
he started with this list of 20
different things about you this is what
we did our first day here and we had to
keep narrowing it down and taking out
identities and came up with one so the
one thing you all know about me is I'm a
gallery guy right but there were all
these other things that I think informed
me and why I am part of this program and
and what I gained from from being it
part of it and some of those things are
that lease is a secret artist but I have
a background in social work and I used
to be a Social Work educator and
researcher so I bring that and now I'm
currently an artist and that I bring
that to this to this group I also feel
like this is part of my contribution to
my community and I mean that at all
levels my local community community of
people you know people in the US people
in North Carolina this is something that
that I do to strengthen and contribute
to the community and then I was thinking
about what Laurel said at one time she
had a list of different things about
their program that she thought it
brought and some of those really
resonated with me as I was thinking
about this
and things like exploring and I feel
like every time we come together as a
group that's what we're doing together
we're not up there lecturing we're not
up there saying here's all the
information you need to know about this
artwork we're exploring together and we
learn as gallery guides I know I do I
learn a little something new about an
artwork every time I talk about it with
this group and tom was talking about how
people have questions and want to
discuss and it's just it's just so
excellent we you know we sit quietly
nobody's in a rush to respond nobody's
going to rush anyone in response we sort
of let it let it evolve as we go so we
explore those together and I really feel
like we're doing that as a group
connecting you know and Debbie talked
about coming after Tony died and this
community of people I ghin I feel very
connected to everybody that comes and
each time we we do a tour we connect a
little bit more we're connecting about
the art we're connecting emotionally so
that's a really that that really
resonated with me when when Laurel
mentioned connection sharing you know
we're sharing our impressions of the art
we're sharing our talents in the art
room when we come together and create
something and then the last thing that
she mentioned that made sense to me with
that idea of transcending and I think
all of us kind of transcend all the
different limitations we bring and all
the spring moves and it's just really an
opportunity to be together and explore
the art and not think about what our
limitations are that's all I really have
to say one comment I don't like sitting
that long but it's great when you
cluster around a piece of artwork you
can actually sit and rest and focus
rather than kind of just swaying or kind
of see or those kinds of things so that
actually
weeds maybe two more fought unless you
know just standing and you know thinking
you're going to move on immediately
we kind of take our time we're pretty
flexible
I think somebody asked that the other
day about I think it was in the music
group that what if the music goes longer
people want to just sit and listen and
we're we're all pretty flexible as
gallery guides in terms of we're going
we're going to skip that piece or you
know we're going to spend only two
minutes there and we do it kind of on
the fly we work together in pairs and we
read each other's signals pretty well
non-verbally you can just make a little
motion and you know what that person met
it's a small group of us who do do these
these tours so we we work together to
develop the tour each month we pair up
to do the tours together so we we're a
pretty tight group of of gallery guides
what you do you do change times because
we could get talking about one painting
and be on it for a long time and I can
see somebody's looking at their watch I
think okay we will maybe not see that
one skip on to the third yeah I've
really enjoyed the themes but a lot of
thought and time I know have gone into
the planning that the docents have fun
and you know the same and having a chunk
of the museum that's manageable you know
and digestible is really I think very
very helpful so I really appreciated
that and we work together to develop
those each month and then think about an
artwork in the different galleries and
make some stretches sometimes about how
to connect into a theme but it usually
works pretty well and then either the
music or the artwork also connects to
them yeah the artwork well both of that
that integration Tom came up when we
were talking about this yesterday the
phrase it cultivates the artist within
and and that's really what the program
does no matter how far we have to reach
in for that artist or back in time that
it really has brought that you know
more to the forefront so that one of the
artists the crafts if it's a craft
always links to an artist and so one
time we worked on a collage and the
artist that we looked at one of the
signature features the people in some of
the paintings had yellow gloves I all
right can't remember the name of that
argument yes that's not one of our
current exhibits okay and so Tommen has
Tana I had a lot of fun putting that
together and cutting out little yellow
gloves and then talking later about in
the future you know weeks after that
what really was that yellow glove all
about so by bringing home the artwork
and/or pictures again it also creates
transcends the time that we're here but
brings it into our home and again enrich
me in which is that's much further than
the time earlier one of the nice things
for us was that that group collage
project was framed beautifully framed
and we were given two of the pieces for
outside our the doors of our offices
where Ginelli and Bobby and I work and
people stopped all the time it's the
only original art in the building you
know we're in a hospital so it's really
exciting but people stop there and ask
us about it and we get to tell the story
of how that was created by an entire
group of people and it all came together
so well and it's course beautifully
framed and displayed but that's a way
that we bring the museum program into
the Medical Center and it's just gets
people thinking excuse they're thinking
about that the other thing I wanted to
mention because I think it's important
is that the museum has been really
helpful in making adaptations for us we
started out with those little black
folds chairs which we're still using but
some people balance isn't that great
we weren't they weren't comfortable
sitting in those little seats I wasn't
particularly comfortable either but
anyway we they were able to get seats
with backs that also were transportable
and they were able to set have the seat
set up in advance for the next place we
went so people didn't have to carry
their seats with I mean these are small
things they're logistics
they make a huge difference we also know
as the group has aged and progressed and
some people have progressed to the point
where they need friends in the bathroom
if they are with an opposite sex partner
that is no sweat here because we all
know each other so well and there's
always somebody and it's not necessary
that's our group that's not the docents
necessarily but we can take care of
things that come up so they have made
what are not typical ad a adaptations
that have worked really well for our
group oh and there's always always with
with Tony the last oh I don't know six
months or so if he had to go to the
bathroom somebody went with it I mean
and it was always somebody in our group
come on come on Tony let's go and off
you go and I have helped many a woman in
our group that they kind of don't want
him to go in there alone and we all help
each other those are the dozens have
made the Nasher program a resounding
success anybody want to say anything
about what happens at lunch Debbie
you've probably been to more lunches
this is well we we usually always go
we'll have gone in the morning and so
when we go into the where we're going to
sit we see many of our friends that we
were hoping to see and then everybody
talks
I can remember one day Tony and I were
sitting at a table with a bunch of
people and a couple of people came in
and he jumped up and took off right over
to greet him and give the man a big hug
and he was so happy to see these people
and that's what the lunch and the whole
program made it so nice was that that
you were there and like Lisa said you
didn't we weren't in a support group
where we were discussing heavy things
about how we were doing or not doing and
it was just a social fun relaxed time
and lunches the food here is delicious
it was also the couple time and what I
think a lot of couples say is that they
lose that couple time and so they were
able to be as couples with friends the
other thing that we know that I noticed
is whenever we have anything in the
atrium and our group is doing like one
time we tried out African musical
instruments and anyone who is in the
museum was drawn to this and started
joining our group nobody knew what our
group was and you know everybody joined
in and the same thing happened and much
earlier in an art group where bobbi and
i it was in the atrium and everybody was
working on an art project and all of a
sudden I noticed a mother and a daughter
that I didn't recognize
and I said to Bobby you know do you know
them oh he knows it well it turns out
they were just in the museum and they
just sat down at the table and started
making something together and ever our
group didn't care and um but that's what
Jessica and a lot of the people mean
about getting a real community
experience and not feeling singled out
and getting to enjoy the benefits of the
Durham commute
that a museum has and not be so problem
or disease focused all the time
thank you so much for sharing narrative
US government class wonderful man to
follow their nutrition as a son getting
ready what
but facilitate cameramen the types of
pre-registration what is the number that
you limit to one and it's 20 in the
morning and 24 in the afternoon and that
Jessica said that it's dependent on the
availability of the docents we within
the morning group there's two groups
sometimes base but if it's big they'll
split into two groups in the afternoon
we'll be two groups 222 split right so
we'll have to docents with each group of
ten in the morning and the same in the
afternoon and then we kind of rotate
through that tour and just by way of
background there is always there are
always two social workers from the Duke
Family Support Program so that if the
group divides into two we split into two
- so we're with people we know
we've we've done some seasonal things
that you know spring I think we did I
think we did pretty much every season at
some point we did a tour about masks and
that was a little bit of a stretch that
we figured out a way to find you know
our gal we have three different
pavilions so we try to go into at least
two of them during each tour so we're
trying to connect you know sometimes
ancient art to very contemporary art we
did mass what are some others Ruth sir
Maggie portraits and that was the time I
think I did the dress up and then J who
you've seen taking photos took photos of
everybody and everyone got a copy of
their yes they're a couple portrait
meditation we put our heads together
every month in a meeting and think about
what a tour should be and we as docents
also have developed tours for other
purposes that will then kind of
integrate into these one so those are
some that come to mind we could probably
share others
we alternate so one month these are once
a month one month is music the next
month - well I just can't answer that
she's she's the boss
connection 22 salary guys and as a 21-8
are part of their affection for me and
they are all smart not necessarily it is
a literal schedule with availability but
a gallery guys plus two fact embers are
tours and then of the eight
we're very deliberate about having half
this beaver season though having but bad
University students who deliver the
emergency room it's always the same day
of the month and to the super to feel
like the fourth paragraph is on that
Wednesday of the month iminium Tuesday
that's dedicated for here and date
forums and we have a to data indicated
for public tours are more
we do 60 minutes in the gallery and then
a half hour either for the music or the
art some people come at lunch and do the
afternoon group so they would come at
12:00 and start with lunch and then do
the afternoon group but the the group
program the structured program is an
hour and a half total and that's why I
like their flexibility is we had one
chamber group that was wonderful but
they wanted 45 minutes and they were so
great that it was worth every second so
we cut the art a little bit because that
everybody loved that group go ahead and
one create a ring Rin once in a while I
think the art the hours is a good time
gallery yeah for the gallery I think
that's that's a super time and and I
know with the music many of us could
easily have it longer that happens how
our music but you'd also get involved in
whatever art project you were doing so
I've taken some of the work home and
finished it and a lot of planning and
logistics have gone into that having art
ready to go as soon as we get there it's
all organized and they don't have other
people helping too which is helpful
other staff helping and we should say
that we also have had artists visiting
artists with our groups doing the art
interactive art projects that was
fascinating to me yeah we had a Potter
who worked with clay we had a company
who did weaving wood and metal agree
with it scream oh right right it was
green printing oh yeah and
then the wood-burning yes quite a pretty
for brandy but I certify structures here
are you independent I have no we're
community based we are these are not
necessarily all due patients we just
happen to be located in the Duke center
for aging space and Duke hospital but
all our support groups and all our
education and support programs like our
specific early stage memory loss program
is for the community and so the
community is large it is not Durham and
we're drawing from the whole raleigh
area and Chapel Hill and beyond we've
had people in this program from Virginia
and winston-salem party any serve people
that come in as early stages and
now we have support groups for people at
varying stages and it's a is a very
large program but people who go through
an early stage eight-week education and
support program then become part of a
larger community that one man living
with dementia defined as the alphas he
started calling it the alphas so the
Alpha community now is about a hundred
and fifty people throughout the area and
we provide a range of programs including
the Nasher but other arts programs other
support group programs lectures and a
variety of other programs for people to
continue to stay connected so that they
have lots of options to see each other
during the month you know we Wednesday's
is Nasher day you know there are some
things that those rituals get to be
really important
I
question she wondered whether the museum
paid for lunch or if participants did
participants participants pay for lunch
there's no charge and I think that's
really important and they get parking
passes they get the entire program and
they're not charged for materials fees
like our students are I think that's
really fantastic advantage at lets
people try something that they may never
have tried and we have had people who
have never been in a museum we've had
people who say you know well that they
look around and they say well this is
pretty contemporary art and most of this
and sometimes pretty provocative art and
some more traditional people have said
well this isn't my style but is one man
in our group said you know we're I never
thought a 76 year old man could have so
much fun and he was one of those people
who had never been to a museum
you mentioned that you all knew each
other group knew each other prior
because beginning the measure program
and I was wondering what that looks like
and College Outsiders might happy in the
use and use their facility or group come
into this program our providers at UNC
there's another blue down the road but I
wouldn't really like this blue tube
because of this program but so Debbie
was she was in the very early education
and support group for early-stage
Alzheimer's disease and we would do
family support put on and that was the
eight-week program so that cohort of
people then are connected with other
cohorts that come later which we were
part of the one in a year ago so it's
through the again that details the work
that Janelle II and Bobby and Lisa do to
combine everyone together then that
creates an opportunity for us to be
other people that we had not met in our
specific group but it's that group of
150 people we potentially can meet here
so that that group comes to these
Wednesday look and lunch once a month
and that's the very first program that
we started doing for people with
dementia but we now have started two
others one that institutions can sign up
to come so assisted living facilities
and and we do a dedicated tour sort of
like these ones we don't always have
music and now we have a monthly public
tour people need to let us know they're
coming but that can just be an
individual and a Care Partner and that's
Tuesdays once a month we just recently
started in return is we advertise that
in a monthly e-newsletter that Janelle
e-myth is very responsible for and so
people who miss our regular Wednesday to
have doctor's appointments they could go
on that Tuesday program and get a pretty
similar experience and so that's an
advantage for us and they're expanding
program if you mentioned that the Nasher
program is one of a number of programs
that are offered people after they
succeed in eight weeks yes into the
support group commute on to some of the
other offerings are yeah we have another
support group that didn't necessarily
people don't necessarily start in early
stage with the eight-week group and
that's been meeting since the 90s once a
month in the morning in a church and
it's for couples and/or adult parent
adult child and they meet for 30 minutes
all together an hour separately one
separate groups for families and
separate groups for people with the
diagnosis and then they all go out to
lunch that lunch seems to be involved in
a lot of our food is involved in a lot
of our success and then we've also had
programs with the Carolina theater down
the kick it's actually yeah Carolina
theater downtown has school public
school programs where they bring in
artists who are going to be performing
for a lot of money at night to do a
school program during the day and so
we've tried a couple of times to take
group our group to a school program
where they will give 30 seats to a
disability group basically but so we and
we have the advantage of being there
with all the public schools which is
kind of fun and depending on the program
we had we tried that twice one of them
was a little bit too childlike for us
and one of them was phenomenal and our
group loved it so we've learned to be a
little more cautious about which
programs we pick but and then we have
potlucks we have we have lectures we
have groups for family members as their
relative progresses that are for more
moderate stage 2 patients aport groups
and a variety
of things that people can pick and
choose and then also in the community
their memory cafes there are seven
memory cafes in the Triangle area that
many of you may have been familiar with
but a lot of the people in our groups
have participate in some of the memory
cafes as well
[Applause]