Radical Connections: Performance at Saint Vincent Hospital

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At Radical Connections and Bruyère, we believe participation in the arts should be a standard aspect of healing and wellness. With the Performance in Saint-Vincent Hospital's Atrium, on Thursday September 28th a 2:30pm, patients, staff and visitors will get a chance to sample the artists who have been offered to the people in care at Bruyère's hospital and long-term-care sites through Radical Connections programming. Featured at this event: Chas Guay, Kim Kilpatrick, Eleanor Crowder, and Concert Doc’s Carol Wiebe and Fraser Rubens.

The Line Up of Artists...

Chas Guay is described as a groove oriented musician who leans toward the chill side, framing songs with intimacy and a mature poetic charm. Chas states, “Music has served me well throughout my life and I enjoy sharing the value of harmony, melody, and rhythm. I have seen music to be a great connector.”

No Culture Days event would be complete without an interactive component! Inspired by Calgary’s Inside Out Theatre actor, playwright and director Eleanor Crowder and storyteller and disability rights activist Kim Kilpatrick will demonstrate the improvisational theatre they have been facilitating for the seniors at the Dementia Society’s Daisy Cafe. They will need some help from the audience.

Proud to be completely blind, Kim Kilpatrick has a history of championing artists with disabilities. Kilpatrick has also worked in long-term and palliative care as a music therapist. She is known for her well-crafted stories and shows including three solo shows about her life with blindness which have been performed across Canada. Kim has also taught many workshops on the art of storytelling especially for others with disabilities.

Eleanor Crowder is a member of several artist collectives, including Bear & Co., Calalou, and The AWAY Collective. This past spring she presented the outdoor dance collaboration Skin Songs. Along with her involvement in Radical Connections, Eleanor works with children and seniors through MASC.

This event also features fan favourites Concert Docs featuring tenor Fraser Rubens and Radical Connection's concert pianist Carol Wiebe.

Dr. Carol Wiebe studied music performance (piano, flute) before becoming a family physician. Her recent medical career has focused on elders in hospital and long-term care. After several years as VP, Medical Affairs at Bruyère, she co-founded the Bruyère Artist in Residence program, Radical Connections and ConcertDocs, each of which brings the arts into residential care.

In addition to his work as a cardiac surgeon at the Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Fraser Rubens has established an active career as an oratorio and concert soloist for choirs throughout Ontario and Quebec. He has performed with Opera Lyra Ottawa, Canadian Opera Company, Southminster Festival, Ottawa’s Thirteen Strings as well as solo concerts in California, Frankfurt, Salzburg and Italy. Fraser co-founded ConcertDocs with Dr. Carol Wiebe.

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Radical Connections

We improve care and strengthen communities by bringing artists and people in healthcare together.

Wellness, for all, involves the opportunity to play, create and make choices. People in care need those same opportunities. Participation in the arts brings joy and connection; it demonstrates that people receiving care are much more than their medical conditions.

Elder care needs radical transformation. We ensure that aging is a time when people can share their wisdom and enjoy arts and culture.

People experiencing mental or physical distress should be surrounded by healing environments. We will bring meaningful sonic, visual, literary or movement-based arts into hospitals and care settings either virtually or in person.

True creative participation humanizes care by celebrating a diversity of individuals, cultures, abilities, and communities. Connecting arts and health improves quality of life for residents, patients, visitors, and everyone working in healthcare.

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