Using art to escape cancer, even for a few hours

A collaboration between the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the Cancer Assistance Program brings patients and families together to talk about art, forge social connections, and leave their diagnosis behind.

Accessible, experiential, and enjoyable – that’s how the Art Gallery of Hamilton describes the innovative Artful Moments, a visual arts-focused social and educational program designed to empower people living with dementia to foster connections and discussion about gallery collections and exhibitions. Since the launch, Artful Moments lead Laurie Kilgour-Walsh has been investigating avenues to grow the program.

“We've been looking at ways that our audience can expand, because we know just from the years of doing the work, we've seen the impact, and we know that it makes a difference in people's lives in whatever circumstances they're living with,” said Kilgour-Walsh, the wellness lead at the AGH, to HAMILTON CITY Magazine. 

“I’ve seen it. It takes them outside of all of those circumstances they're living with on a daily basis. It provides really positive opportunities for social connection. We bring together a group of people who have some kind of shared lived experience, and rather than feeling like a person who's dealing with something that other people don't understand, they come together with really like-minded people.”

After launching with those with dementia, Artful Moments has been running a second pilot program for patients with cancer.

The program began in 2009, when staff at the AGH and St. Peter’s Hospital collaborated, found funding and launched the pilot in which participants with dementia/Alzheimer’s studied art and completed a guided activity. Recently, the Cancer Assistance Program, a community-based, not-for-profit organization offering free services for individuals and families affected by cancer, connected with the AGH through Kilgour-Walsh and Debbie Logel Butler, the executive director of CAP.

“I had worked with a few of the collaborators with Laurie from St. Peter's,” said Logel Butler. “I'm a former St. Peter's employee, so I knew some of the people that worked with Laurie in regards to setting up the first Artful Moments with the dementia/Alzheimer's population.”

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The new iteration is a different type of program, said Logel Butler. “Our goal was to provide a program where cancer patients can leave cancer behind. And that's exactly what our goal has achieved.”

Discussing and creating art may not be a treatment that people living with cancer prioritize. Yet, this alternative focus has proved significant and extremely positive for patients' mental health, according to Kilgour-Walsh and Logel Butler.

“When people are dealing with complex circumstances, coming to a gallery may not always be their first thought,” said Kilgour-Walsh. 

“So it's really finding someone who can help carry that message to them as well. We are always looking to learn, the model or the methodology that we use for the program is really very much centred on knowing and understanding the people that we work with. So in this case, it was spending time with Debbie to hear more about her clients and some of the things that they were going through, and having a bit of a chat to understand the best ways to support their strengths and interests.”

CAP’s staff, clients and 195 volunteers often deal with heavy subjects. Logel Butler says collaborations like this uplift everyone’s spirits collectively and help to reenergize the workers involved.

“We actually have two of them (patients), a husband and wife, that at the end of their session, they go out for dinner and they discuss the art and what they learned,” said Logel Butler. “It is the most uplifting and beautiful program that just fills our bucket. And each of the individuals are so thankful. To be able to leave that behind for two and a half hours is absolutely exactly what we had hoped to achieve.”

The trial period of this burgeoning program runs until early November, but Logel Butler hopes that through the success of this CAP and AGH partnership, this collaboration can continue.

“One of the things that she (Logel Butler) shared from the first program was that, one of the participants said to her near the end that this was their first time in a long time where they hadn't thought about cancer all day,” said Kilgour-Walsh. 

“And so I think it's hearing that even though we're just sitting in a gallery and we're talking about paintings and sculptures, that people are finding that kind of change in their lives in the moment. And hopefully that carries on for them.”