Hello everyone,

 

Today, I met with Tammy Sutherland, the Programme Coordinator for the Manitoba Craft Council.  We reviewed the applications for the Art of Neuroscience initiative and decided to present 8 applications to you so that you would have a wider range of options.  We will gauge the amount of interest in each application and from there, choose 3-5 people for the pilot project.  I already have some idea of where to match people based on the emails that received last week, but I invite everyone to look at the applications and make their interest known.  The applications can be accessed through this Dropbox link (you can also access the artists' websites to see additional images):

 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b29sxlfin3ao2b6/AABgdliAaRzXsCEG8x_dE1qDa?dl=0

 

As you will see, these artists do beautiful work, and in their letters, almost all of them describe how they have been impacted by neurological disease in some way.  In fact, some of them have actually been diagnosed with neurological disorders such as essential tremor and Parkinson's disease, which gives them a particularly unique perspective.

 

Two of the artists are from outside of Winnipeg.  Lin Xu is an Assistant Professor at Brandon University, but Tammy has indicated that MCC funds would be made available to allow her to travel to Winnipeg, so the distance should not be a big factor.  Her work is absolutely stunning - I highly recommend that you check it out! 

 

The other artist, Michelle Forsyth, is actually based in Toronto, and is an Associate Professor at OCAD University, one of the country's most prestigious art and design schools.  She has been diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's and is interested in incorporating her experiences into her work.  Tammy has told me that she is a very highly regarded artist, and she works in a variety of media.  While the distance could pose a bit of a barrier, we felt that this was such a unique opportunity that we should at least make you aware of it.

 

Many of you are likely wondering about the time commitment, and Tammy and I discussed this today.  In order to ensure that the process moves forward, we feel that the artist and the neuroscientist should meet for a minimum of 3 hours per month, for 3-6 months starting in January or February (ie. 9-18 hours total between now and next June).  Hopefully you will find that to be reasonable.  You could certainly meet more often than that if you want - it will be entirely up to the two of you.  You can meet in person, Skype, talk on the phone, or exchange emails - again, the depth of your interaction is up to the two of you.  Developing a relationship will be part of this process, so come with an open mind!

 

As always, feel free to contact me with any questions.  I look forward to hearing from you!

 

Sari