Entrance to the Berman Museum at Ursinus College

COLLEGEVILLE PA – Museum educators, arts education specialists, activities directors and social workers from Alzheimer’s care and assisted living centers will benefit later this month from special sessions that use exhibits and collections of the Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College as training materials.

Two international organizations – Art Beyond Sight, and ARTZ/Artists for Alzheimer’s – will lead the sessions that teach professionals how to integrate the arts more fully into the lives of those with disabilities. The training is the first phase of a Berman project devoted to arts, disability, and access, which will end in a September 2012 exhibition titled “Access-Ability: Deconstructing and Reconstructing Art for Access.”

The Art Beyond Sight Collaborative is dedicated to making the visual arts play a vital role in the lives of people who are blind and visually impaired. The ARTZ mission links artists and cultural institutions to people living with dementia and their care partners, using artistic and cultural experiences to unlock creativity, create new memories, strengthen and develop relationships, and enrich lives.

• Nina Levent, executive director of Art Beyond Sight, will lead intensive day-long training April 24 (2012; Tuesday) from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Sean Caulfield, co-founder and creative director of ARTZ, will lead a workshop for assisted living and Alzheimer’s and dementia unit social workers and activities directors April 25 (Wednesday) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and a session for museum educators April 26 (Thursday) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Caulfield will also give a public talk April 25 at 7 p.m. about the work of ARTZ and the use of artistic and cultural experiences in the lives of people living with dementia and their care partners.

All events and programs are free, but the training sessions are limited to 20 members and require advance registration. To register for one or more sessions, call the museum at 610 409-3500 or send an e-mail, here, to Associate Director Susan Shifrin, and specify date(s) of the session(s) you wish to attend.