Bill Thomas: Little Stories, the North Dakota Council on the Arts reports on arts groups that pivot in the face of disruption. You may not have heard of the North Dakota Council on the Arts Art For Life program, unless maybe you or someone you know goes to a senior center, or lives in some kind of senior home or facility. Art For Life started more than 20 years ago, and it was a bit of a trailblazer in this kind of work, which work is, to quote the Arts Council, to improve the emotional and physical health and wellness of elders in care facilities, as well as those living independently through intensive art and artist interaction. Now, you may be thinking of a water color class or a musician coming in for a concert. It can be more, quite a bit more. I was talking to Alicia Glynn, who is a manager with senior facilities in Ellendale. I was talking to her about one Art For Life project that they had there, and I asked her if that one was a one-off.
Alicia Glynn: No, Ellendale has a pretty amazing... It's called the Ellendale Area Arts Foundation... Or Council, and they sponsor things year round. They are always coming up with something new, exciting. They've done many things. They brought in many artists. I know at the other facility they had pictures that they brought in from this artist that were hung throughout all the hallways. They've done giant scenes in our chapel that were 15 feet high by 12 feet wide. They're always bringing in new and different ideas for us. This was just an added bonus.
Bill Thomas: Yeah. As you've probably heard, the coronavirus pandemic has hit seniors hard in North Dakota and elsewhere. They might have canceled the Art For Life programs. Instead, well, hey, they're artists, they got creative. Here is a report about how artists Melissa Gordon performed in Ellendale, in Dickey County, south of Jamestown, and Watford City, in oil country. This is Alicia Underlee Nelson.
Alicia Underlee Nelson: Artist Melissa Gordon kneels on the sidewalk outside Evergreen Place and Assisted Living in Ellendale, patiently pressing great swaths of green and golden rod into the pavement. Some residents watched from the windows. Others sport protective masks and monitor Gordon's progress from a safe distance. Under their watchful eyes, a pastoral scene featuring a big red barn and a pair of towheaded kids in candy apple cowboy boots emerges. The image resonated deeply with the viewers. Many spent most of their lives on farms and ranches, and the drawing brought back memories. They had requested the images in Gordon's artwork, but the final product was a surprise.
"Everybody was talking about it, how excited they were," says, Cyndal Glynn, a registered nurse at Evergreen Place. "They kept checking in. It gave them a lot of joy to go out and see something that's outside the norm, especially given the quarantine." Gordon's vibrant chalk drawings, also grace Prince of Peace Care Center in Ellendale and Good Shepherd Home in Watford City. At Prince of Peace, delicate pink and purple blossoms, yellow hearts, and words of encouragement spill across the sidewalks that usher residents to a popular outdoor courtyard. At Good Shepherd she created personalized chalk marker drawings directly on residents windows. The projects look different since they're based on residence requests, but they share a common purpose. All three facilities use their Art For Life grants from North Dakota Council on the Arts to cultivate connections and a sense of community for seniors during the time of coronavirus.
Alicia Glynn: "Socialization is such a big part of their day, so to maintain those guidelines of social distance, but also keep them engaged with their families and each other has definitely been a challenge."
Alicia Underlee Nelson: Explains Alicia Glynn, Evergreen Place housing manager.
Alicia Glynn: It was something to talk to their families about, and it was neat for them to share that connection with each other as well.
Alicia Underlee Nelson: The projects also gave residents a chance to recall some of their favorite memories. Gordon, who is perhaps best known for her portrait of Sitting Bull in the Bismarck Art Alley said that she particularly enjoyed transforming each resident's memory into a unique work of window art. "There's a whole story in each room," Gordon says. "That triggers another memory and they're able to communicate and share some of those stories." These individual works of art set off a flurry of conversations between staff, residents, and family members who viewed the images from outside the building. The images depicted are as diverse as the residents themselves.
"It might've been their favorite flower or bird, a flag in honor of their military service, a story of them spending time in the Badlands, a picture of their barn on their farmstead, or a picture of the logo of the business they used to work out with their spouse," says Kristen Rhone, activity director at Good Shepherd Home. They were all so unique. Those connections, conversations, and memories are a vital part of the service that long-term care facilities provide. During times of social distancing, they're more important than ever. "By doing art programming with our residents, we are able to fight the loneliness, helplessness, and boredom which can often be associated with those living in nursing homes," says Rhone. "Art helps us take care of the resident as a whole, and helps us honor them mind, body, and soul. This is Alicia Underlee Nelson for Prairie Public.
Bill Thomas: Thank you, Alicia, for that reporting. Now, you may recall a little earlier I was talking to another Alicia, Alicia Glynn, who manages elder care and senior facilities in Ellendale, and I just had to ask her, "How's it going?"
Alicia Glynn: I am the manager over at our basic care and assisted living, so it's been a little bit different for us. They have a little more freedom over here, and our skilled nursing facility across town has... We were doing really well for a long time. We did have the virus end up getting into our facilities, and we talked about... It's just been difficult, because for them to be together and socialize is just... It's what they do, and when that virus is so prevalent in your County, which for us, unfortunately it was, is I guess... We were the second worst County in the nation for a while. When it's bad in your County and in your town, it's bad in your facility, and it's been a challenge to... How do we keep them safe without losing their minds? Because they really want to get out, and visit, and see everybody.
The art on the windows that was another thing she did. She did these huge art scenes. We've had people come on windows and do art scenes. People play games through their windows with their grandchildren. I've never seen so much love and creativity from our community to help us get through this, because it's been a challenge.
Bill Thomas: "I've never seen so much love and creativity," she says. Well, it's great that Art For Life can be part of that. You can see lots more about all of this at https://news.prairiepublic.org/programs/little-stories or you can go to the North Dakota Council On The Arts website, https://www.arts.nd.gov/.
This project is supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council On The Arts which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment For The Arts. I'm Bill Thomas.
See the Smithsonian Institution’s feature on this project,
https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/crisis-cultural-sustainability-north-dakota-covid
