Bill Perthes, Bernard C. Watson Director of Adult Education at the Barnes Foundation, and Wendy Lewis, CEO, The Parkinson Council discussed their pilot program, Create & Connect. This free workshop is designed to support individuals living with Parkinson’s disease and their care partners through meaningful experiences with art and creative expression to make connections—between participants, the works of art, and through shared moments of reflection and making. Trained staff members guide participants through slow-looking exercises and conversations about selected works in the Barnes galleries followed by a hands-on art-making experience led by a teaching artist. The next sessions will held October 11 and October 25. 

Bill noted the Barnes had already dipped into art and health, their Art, Well-Being, and Medicine workshops help medical students and healthcare professionals develop a more empathetic and humanistic approach to patient care. The Barnes was founded by Dr. Albert Barnes, a physician who financed his collection through his patented medicine discovery.  

Wendy discussed Parkinson’s and how important self-expression and social connection is to those living with it and their caregivers and she described their programming that allows them to stay active and engaged. She also invites us to join the Parkinson Council for its annual Stamp Out Parkinson’s Walk November 1 at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard. To register, donate or volunteer go to the their website, TheParkinsonCouncil.org

For more information about Create & Connect or other Barnes programming, or to register for October 11, go to BarnesFoundation.org