WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – An art exhibit and a series of lectures at the Gateway Gallery at The Enrichment Center and Senior Services Inc., will explore Alzheimer’s disease, a puzzling form of dementia, now through Sept. 16. All events are free and open to the public.
“The Alzheimer’s Project” is the inaugural project of the “City of Arts and Medicine Series” sponsored by the Northwest Area Health Education Center (AHEC) at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Senior Services Inc. and The Enrichment Center.
The series opened with an exhibit of self-portraits by artist William Utermohlen. Born in 1933, the Philadelphia native has lived and painted in London since 1962. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1995 and since that time has produced a body of work that clearly illustrates the progression of the disease.
The exhibit, “The Late Portraits of William Utermohlen,” has been displayed at galleries around the world. It is currently at The Enrichment Center’s Gateway Gallery, 1006 S. Marshall St. until Sept. 16. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment.
Other “City of Arts and Medicine” events include:
• Saturday, Aug. 19, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Senior Services Inc., 2895 Shorefair Dr. “The Neurology of Painting.” Anjan Chatterjee, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, will speak on his studies of Alzheimer’s disease and art.
• Tuesday, Aug. 22, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Gatewood Gallery at The Enrichment Center. “Memory Loss: Normal Aging or Dementia?” Geriatrician Kaycee M. Sink, M.D., of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center will compare the symptoms of dementia to those of normal aging. “The Healing Aspect of Art,” will feature Children’s Center art therapist, Marsha Thrift. A reception will be held.
• Saturday, Aug. 26, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.., Gatewood Gallery at The Enrichment Center. “What We Know About Alzheimer’s Disease: Lessons from the Great Masters, psychiatrist Burton V. Reifler, M.D., of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. “Art and the Alzheimer’s Patient,” art teacher Deb Williams, Arbor Acres United Methodist Retirement Community.
• Tuesday, Aug., 29, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Senior Services, Inc., two lectures in a program titled, “Alzheimer’s Narratives: Voicing the Experience of Patients and Families.” David H. Flood, Drexel University, Pa., and Rhonda L. Soricelli, M.D., The College of Physicians of Philadelphia.
To register or for more information, contact Joyce Allen, (336) 713-7726, jeallen@wfubmc.edu. For gallery information, call the Gateway Gallery at The Enrichment Center, (336) 777-0076 or visit the Website, www.enrichmentcenter.org.
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Media Contacts: Jim Steele, jsteele@wfubmc.edu, Karen Richardson, krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu, or Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, at (336) 716-4587.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine. The system comprises 1,187 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.
Media Relations
Main Number: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587