Panelists Explain Why Unmasked Connections Must Continue
Screen capture from the panel discussion Grand Rounds in Conversation, top left to bottom right: Radical Connections Artistic Director Jenny McMaster, researcher Rebecca MacDonald, actor Jennifer Vallance, EBR long-term care resident Denise, Sanokondu founder Dr. Diane Meschino, Recreational Coordinator Kim Durst-Mackenzie.
Intro by Jenny McMaster, Artistic Director
Over the course of our last three newsletters, I have regularly reported on our developing pilot project Unmasked Connections. Funded by the Ontario Arts Council and Elder Care Ottawa grants, this program brings one on one, interactive sessions with musician, poets, story tellers and actors to people in care at Bruyère’s long-term care locations, Elisabeth Bruyère Residence and Residence Saint Louis.
Unmasked Connections was launched over the summer of 2022 and this past October, as a part of Ontario Culture Days, Radical Connections and Bruyère hosted on a panel discussion inviting a popular participating artist, a research student, a therapeutic recreational coordinator from Bruyère, and a long-term care resident to share their thoughts and experiences on the program. We also invited a member of Sanakondu a multi-national community of practice invested in healthcare leadership education to bring an outside perspective on the program.
It was a very touching experience to host this event and the words of the panelist reinforced how much the personalized interactive online performances of Unmasked Connections are needed.
Jennifer Vallance a Toronto based actor of the screen and stage, brought dramatic readings of Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, and found herself involved in-depth discussions on topics such as history, the natural world and Monty-Python.
(It was) not only a performance; but also, a beautiful interaction which was extremely fulfilling emotionally and spiritually on both sides of the zoom!
To be compensated fairly for my time and expertise is always challenging and very much appreciated for a gig-economy worker.
Denise, a long-term care resident and Elizabeth Bruyère, discussed and exchanged poetic readings with poet, actress and playwright Eleanor Crowder.
The program has been very interesting. It has been a reawakening of my poetic self that was dormant under the weight of illness, moving.... Since the program has begun, I have written four new poems. It has been so enjoyable.
Kim Durst Mackenzie, Recreational Coordinator and employee of Bruyère for 35 years, worked to train artists and facilitate online connections with people in care, challenging task in the midst of staff shortages and continuing lockdowns.
“The general recreation activities in Long Term Care are often described as the 3 B’s - Bingo, Beanbags and Board games. To participate in an activity like Unmasked Connections is an opportunity to enhance the resident’s quality of life. The resident chooses the artist and engages in a meaningful conversation with a like-minded person or listens to a genre of music that is both positive and uplifting.”
uOttawa Cognitive Science PHD Student Rebecca Macdonald with an MA in Music Cognition has been working on a feasibility study for the Unmasked Connections program.
My most fruitful research question so far has been “What are your expectations for this pilot project and what do you hope to achieve or gain from your participation?” The responses collectively highlight the mutual benefit that art offers in healthcare settings. Some responses included the opportunity to build new relationships, the opportunity to touch the lives of others while also getting to practice an art that they are passionate about, learn new skills, gain experience, and push boundaries. So, the main theme here is that bringing art performances into healthcare is not only beneficial for the residents or people receiving the performance, it is just as beneficial for the artists.
Dr. Diane Meschino, is a psychiatrist, associate professor at the University of Toronto and artist--also working with Sanokondu. She also works at Women’s College Hospital, and The Hospital for Sick Children.
(The arts can improve healthcare) by connecting people at the core of what is important to them-the language of joy, the essence of life; important at many points of intersection- providers, patients, culture, purpose, and meaning. Regarding our patients, the arts help to humanize our relationships, by making the invisible, visible (metaphorically); the forgotten, unforgotten; the patient is known dimensionally alive and engaged, even awakened- not as a disease or disorder. For humans, being relationally invisible is terribly painful and torture for many.
Panelists of Grand Rounds in Conversation, top left to bottom right: EBR Resident Denise, Artistic Director Jenny McMaster, actor Jennifer Vallance, Recreational Coordinator Kim Durst-Mackenzie
