Goldberg Center
and Lydia Brockley
In the fall of 2009, The Doane Stuart School and The Goldberg Center of Albany Medical Center collaborated on an art and community service project. Students, faculty and administrators from The Doane Stuart School visited The Goldberg Center, which serves patients with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia as well as their families. The students visited the facility and met with researchers and doctors. They left with a task – to make and donate art that would adorn the walls of the center. The students' artwork would greet patients and their families as well as Goldberg Center employees each day.
I worked with students individually as they crafted art pieces outside of class. We met during lunch, free periods and after school. Approximately fifteen students participated, and each student donated at least one piece to the Center. Some donated quite a few more. Students made work that reflected their research or the ways that dementia had touched their own lives. One student created an interactive piece using carpet samples to create a collage, and she invited passersby to touch it for a moment of peace or distraction.