Creative Brainwaves: Talks series exploring brain health and the creative arts

dlr Libraries, Arts and Community are partnering with the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) for a five-part series of talks and workshops in October and November exploring how engaging in creative arts can improve your brain health.

The talks, led by Karen Meenan, Global Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the GBHI, will feature neuroscientists, researchers and creative artists who work to improve brain health.

Learn how singing, music, dance, poetry, art and writing can stimulate your senses and improve cognition. There is always a special welcome for people living with dementia and their caregivers at each session.

Programme 

Week 1: Wednesday 11 October, 11am – 1pm
Professor Brian Lawlor, site director of the Global Brain Health Institute and Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin; Mike Hanrahan, writer, musician, performer and lead singer with Stockton’s Wing, Global Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health; and Norah Constance Walsh, musician, composer, and choral conductor of multiple choirs and ensembles including the dementia-inclusive Forget-Me-Nots Choir.

Register for Week 1: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/creative-brainwaves-week-1-brian-lawlor-mike-hanrahan-norah-c-walsh-tickets-727414595637

Week 2: Wednesday 18 October, 11am – 1pm
Professor Sven Vanneste, neuroscientist, Global Brain Health Institute facility member and Professor of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin; Olwyn Lyons, choreographer, dance artist and community dance facilitator who has worked extensively with older people; and Dr Anusha Yasoda-Mohan, perceptual neuroscientist and Global Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health with a special interest in hearing loss and tinnitus.

Register for Week 2: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/creative-brainwaves-2-sven-vanneste-olwyn-lyons-dr-anusha-yasoda-mohan-tickets-727426731937

Week 3: Wednesday 25 October, 6.30 – 8.30pm 
Professor Ian Robertson, neuropsychologist working to understand how attention works in the brain and what role attention and alertness play in preserving brain function as we age; Poet Ron Carey; and Frances Elliott, singer, performer, member of The Forget-Me-Nots choir and chair of the Good Neighbours Social Club in Bayside, Sutton.

Register for Week 3: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/creative-brainwaves-3-prof-ian-robertson-ron-carey-frances-elliott-tickets-727433442007

Week 4: Wednesday 1 November, 11am – 1pm
Dr Anne-Marie Glynn, Chief Operations Officer in the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College Dublin; Aosdána member and renowned poet Tony Curtis, an experienced facilitator of poetry and creative writing workshops with both adults and children; and Caroline Hyland, an illustrator and art facilitator with a background in visual communications, art education and occupational therapy.

Register for Week 4: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/creative-brainwaves-4-dr-anne-marie-glynn-tony-curtis-caroline-hyland-tickets-727436049807

Week 5: Wednesday 8 November, 6.30 – 8.30pm 
Professor Agustín Ibáñez, Director of the Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat) at Universidad Adolfo Ibanez and a GBHI faculty member; Róisín Hayes, MA qualified and IACAT registered music therapist; Kevin Quaid, author of two books, ‘Lewy Body Dementia, Survival and Me’ and ‘I am Kevin! not Lewy’, Chair of the Irish Dementia Working Group, and co-founder of Lewy Body Ireland; Helena Quaid, wife and spousal carer for Kevin, co-founder of Lewy Body Ireland, and chair of the Dementia Carers Campaign Network (DCCN).

Register for Week 5: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/creative-brainwaves-5-agustin-ibanez-roisin-hayes-helena-kevin-quaid-tickets-727440031717

View the full programme here.

Creative Brainwaves is part of a programme organised by dlr Libraries, Arts Office and Community section, funded by the Creative Ireland Creativity in Older Age Scheme. 

Feature image: ‘Can You See What I See?’ Painting by Caroline Hyland.