Professor Anne Basting spoke with Lulu Garcia-Navarro about a creative approach to people dealing with dementia and aging in the latest episode of “First Person” from The New York Times. Listen here.
“There is such a powerful force in knowing that you are making something that matters. And people in that curious part of life often feel like they have no capacity to make things of value or be of value anymore… Meaningful social engagement and a sense of purpose and joy in your life — we can research that for the nuances and details, but we should also know at this point that we’ll die and not thrive without that. And we should be making that available to people through every system that we can.”
Dr. Basting is the Director of the Center for 21st Century Studies, the Founder/Lead Creative Strategist/Board President of TimeSlips, and a Professor of English at UWM. Named a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, Basting is also the recipient of an Ashoka Fellowship, Rockefeller Fellowship, a Brookdale National Fellowship for leadership in Geriatrics and Gerontology, The Randy Martin Spirit Award, and numerous major grants across the arts and social services. Her most recent book is Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Dementia and Elder Care.