Sunday, August 26, 2012

Memory Arts Café at Parachute


Memory Arts Café at Parachute: the Coney Island Performance Festival A special session of the Memory Arts Café will take place as part of Parachute: the Coney Island Performance Festival, 10:30 to 11:30am, on Saturday, October 13th, at the New York Aquarium. People living with dementia, their family members and the general public are encouraged to attend the workshop. Participants will perform classic poems with Coney Island and ocean themes and create an original poem inspired the “Alien Stingers,” Jelly Exhibit. Poet Gary Glazner will lead the session.

Memory Arts Café is a new series of free art events for people living with Alzheimer’s disease, their caregivers and the general public and is co-produced by New York Memory Center and the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project.

Founded in 1983, the mission of New York Memory Center is to help older adults who have cognitive, physical, and emotional limitations, to maintain or improve their level of functioning so that they may enjoy their later years at home and within the community. Through an innovative wellness center, New York Memory Center meets the needs of individuals living with Alzheimer’s and related dementia disorders and their Caregivers.

Gary Glazner founded the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project (APP) in 2004. The APP was awarded the 2012 MetLife Foundation Creativity and Aging in America Leadership Award in the category of Community Engagement. The National Endowment for the Arts listed the APP as a “best practice” for their Arts and Aging initiative. NBC's “Today” show, NPR's “All Things Considered” and Voice of America have featured segments on the APP.