In collaboration with Arts for YoungSTARS (AFYS), a youth organization at the University of Alberta, the HIVE presents this community exhibition aimed at bringing greater awareness to the challenges of memory loss associated with Dementia, which groups various types of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Inspired by Loving Elders Art Program (LEAP), an art-based memory initiative supported by Arts for YoungSTARS and the Good Samaritan Southgate Long-term Care Centre*, both organizations created artworks that speak both to the pervasiveness of these memory-related neurodegenerative diseases as well as the impacts it has on affected seniors and the broader community.
The exhibition has 3 components:
- Artwork created by the youth that reflects an intergenerational response to memories. The process involved interviewing seniors to gather their significant memories; these memories were transformed by the youth into works of art.
- Artwork created by LEAP participants, AFYS volunteers, and HIVE youth members that represents the strength of memories to bring various age groups and communities together, despite its vulnerability.
- A participatory activity where anyone can draw or write a favorite or unforgettable memory on a postcard to share with everyone.
The AGA HIVE is generously sponsored by MacLab Enterprises.
*Acknowledgment note: LEAP is funded by the Organization for Arts Students and Interdisciplinary Studies (OASIS) Grant at the University of Alberta and the Rising Youth Grant, jointly provided by Taking It Global, Canada Service Corps, and the Government of Canada.