‘Beyond Words’ Speaker Series Event to Explore How the Arts Can Foster Connection and Meaning in Life’s Final Chapter

January 23, 2025

The Elora Centre for the Arts and Aboyne Rural Hospice are excited to present the second event in their joint Vibrant Visions speaker series.

Beyond Words: How the Arts Bring Meaning and Connection in Life’s Final Chapter” will take place on Sunday, Feb. 23, from 3 to 4:30 pm at the Elora Centre for the Arts.

Vibrant Visions: Bridging Arts, Community & Wellness is a three-part speaker series that highlights the transformative role of community-based and arts-driven approaches to health and wellness. The series explores a range of topics — from enriching the lives of children with disabilities to exploring innovative approaches to end-of-life care.

The inaugural event, held last September, featured Julia Hanigsberg, President and CEO of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. Her talk focused on how arts participation can foster meaningful and healthy futures for children and youth with disabilities and developmental differences. The event also sparked a dynamic conversation among attendees, providing an opportunity for all to engage.

This second event, “Beyond Words: How the Arts Bring Meaning and Connection in Life’s Final Chapter,” features a panel of five speakers who will explore the role of the arts in providing connection and meaning during the final stages of life. This incredible panel brings together individuals with diverse perspectives from clinical care, wellness practices and the arts community.

Event speakers:

All are welcome to attend this event. Anyone who is curious about the power of the arts in health and wellness will be engaged by this panel discussion. It will be of special interest to families and individuals with lived experience of end-of-life, caregivers, clinicians, and arts and wellness professionals wanting to broaden their understanding about the needs of end-of-life care.

“The arts have a unique ability to inspire, heal and bring people together, and that’s at the heart of what this speaker series is about,” said Sheila Koop, Volunteer Chair of the Capital Campaign at the Elora Centre for the Arts. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Aboyne Rural Hospice and showcase the vital ways in which the arts support our community at every stage of life.”

Dr. Clarissa Burke, a member of Aboyne Rural Hospice’s Board of Directors, adds, “The first Vibrant Visions event sparked beautiful conversations, and we’re excited to continue this dialogue with a new panel of experts. We hope to shine a light on the amazing local individuals and organizations who use the arts to support individuals, loved ones and caregivers along the journey to end-of-life.”

Tickets for the event are $30 each ($20 for seniors and students) and can be purchased here.

All proceeds will support the new expansion and accessibility project at the Elora Centre for the Arts and contribute to the development of Aboyne Rural Hospice in the community.

For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Erinn Steringa
Marketing & Communications Manager
Elora Centre for the Arts
marketing@ecfta.ca
(416) 995-3865

About the Elora Centre for the Arts

The Elora Centre for the Arts is a not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to igniting creativity, fostering connection and building community through the arts.

As an arts and culture hub for Wellington County, the Centre serves more than 50,000 people every year through exhibitions, performances, community events, summer camps, affordable office and studio space for local artists and arts groups, and a range of programs and services for all ages. Find yourself at the Centre: ecfta.ca

About Aboyne Rural Hospice

Aboyne Rural Hospice is a community-driven initiative to establish a new residential hospice for rural Wellington County. Our vision is to create a 10-bed hospice that offers compassionate end-of-life care in a welcoming, home-like environment, nestled within the natural beauty of Wellington County, and closer to home for our rural residents.

We are actively fundraising to build this hospice on the two-acre parcel of land generously donated by Wellington County. The dream of a local hospice has been years in the making, and the need to build new hospice beds has never been more urgent.

Every day, local residents with life-limiting illnesses, along with their caregivers and loved ones, hope that our community can bring this essential end-of-life option to fruition. We are deeply grateful for the support we’ve received from our community and remain committed to realizing this vital project: aboyneruralhospice.org