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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, November 19, 2015 | 46 Artscene New Oakville Galleries art program designed for seniors with Alzheimer's disease and loved ones by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff "Connected to your Community" Helping keep Alzheimer's `at bay' S itting in a sunlit room at Oakville Galleries' Gairloch Gardens, overlooking Lake Ontario, Rick Hutchison takes out a ruler, meticulously measuring the dimensions of a box for a decoupage project he's taken on. On top of the box, he's placed a map of the Great Lakes, depicting where he once took his boat across Lake Ontario, through New York and into the Hudson River, as his partner of 22 years, Judy Shone, looks on. Hutchison doesn't have his boat anymore, but he remembers that trip fondly. The couple was part of a pilot project Monday, Nov. 9 by Oakville Galleries -- a new art program designed specifically for local seniors with Alzheimer's disease and their loved ones. Supported by the provincial government and the Alzheimer's Society of Canada, the program is facilitated by an artist and art therapist, and offered free to its participants. "The program is great," Hutchison told the Oakville Beaver, after Monday's session. "It's nice to get out and stay involved." Hutchison was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease about a year and a half ago. Shone said the fact the program encourages those living with the most common form of dementia to stay social and exercise their mind with art lessons and projects, is crucial to keeping Alzheimer's at bay. "Anybody who is not active, either physically or mentally, tends to wind down," she explained. "Keeping active keeps you involved in life... and we've been told socialness is really important with Alzheimer's." When diagnosed, Hutchison admits he didn't know what the disease was or what it does, "but it's there and we have to learn to live with it," he said. Surprised and unprepared, Shone said they immediately connected with the Alzheimer's Society, which quickly gave them the tools and support they needed. According to the Society, more than 747,000 Canadians are living with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia -- while "in reality, that number could be even higher, as many with the disease go undiagnosed," it states. The art program, Points of Entry: Connecting Seniors with Alzheimer's to the Visual Art, is based on a similar project developed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Local art therapist Becky Hewis brought the idea of the program to Oakville Galleries' education offi- A new art program at Oakville Galleries offers participants living with Alzheimer's disease a chance to participate in art workshops. On Monday, Nov. 9, the inaugural group got to decorate a memory box with photos or messages that hold meaning to them. Pictured, Judy Shone and her partner of 22 years Rick Hutchison (diagnosed with Alzheimer's) work on their memory box together, with Rick working on the outside and Judy the inside. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or www.facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) cer Elizabeth Underhill in hopes of offering it to seniors here through a local art gallery. "We saw that arts therapy programs for Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers were occasionally being offered to small groups, but there was an opportunity to reach a wider audience by offering it through Oakville Galleries," said Underhill. "We thought that there was a need for it in the community... (and) as an art gallery, we're always looking for ways to provide arts programming and arts education for the community and it seemed like this was one audience that would greatly benefit from such a program." The first half of the workshop is dedicated to guided conversations with Hewis about artworks on display at Oakville Galleries. "We get into the art history behind the pieces... but we also want them (participants) to be able to see a work of art, connect with it on a personal level and get them to share some of their personal stories," said Underhill. The second half includes the participants and their caregivers working with Hamilton-based artist Julia Salerno to make artworks based on the pieces they previously discussed. Hewis says art can remain benesee Creative on p.47 See The BeST of The holiday oliday y SeaSon Sea SeaS "Join us for A Christmas Story and Home Alone Free with donation of food or toys after the Santa Claus Parade November 21st!" Sign up for Cin-e-Mail and get a free popcorn! Get our showtimes and promos: cinemail.film.ca 171 Speers Road (at Kerr) Oakville 905-338-6397 www.film.ca facebook.com/filmca @FilmCaCinemas The Peanuts Movie (G) November 6th Spectre (PG) November 6th Mockingjay Part 2 (PG) The Good Dinosaur (G) November 20th November 27th