2023 Sessions

(To see posters for the Open Space Sessions, click here.)
 

The Art of Presence
Using magic moments to connect

If we live long enough most of us will at some point become caregivers and/or care receivers. We can enhance our abilities to function within those unsought roles or as part of a support network for others who are going through these experiences. The key is to cultivate a skill set which I, a hospital artist in residence, call “The Art of Presence”. It is a combination of enhanced awareness and the ability to improvise. These tools of artists are the essence of what sometimes is called “bedside manner”. They also are useful in many other situations. In this session we will have an experiential and playful learning journey into qualities that can allow us to be more fully present for one another and for the experience of life.

The Skinny: 3 things you will do in this session

  • See how holistic individualized experiences can impact not just individuals but also their families, communities and the systems within which they exist
  • Recognize how people going through difficult experiences may find unexpected moments of meaningful connection, communication and joy
  • Learn how "Magic Moments" touch your own heart as well as those around you
Anthony Hyatt
Bethesda, MD
Anthony Hyatt, violinist, singer and dancer, is a teaching artist and medical musician working in partnership with many Washington DC area health and human service organizations. He is an artist in residence at the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and in the Smith Center for Healing and the Arts’ program partnership with Virginia’s Inova Healthcare System.

He plays music of many genres and is a student of improvisation practices who believes that The Art of Presence promotes the emergence of healing experiences. Anthony has, since 1997, been leading creative engagement programs at adult care facilities.

For 22 years he was co-director of the Arts For The Aging Quicksilver senior citizen improv dance company. He has served as a master trainer for the National Center for Creative Aging, as a Dance for Parkinson’s Teacher and as a presenter at many international creativity conferences. He is working on a book about his Arts in Healthcare experiences.

Anthony is a returning presenter.

Scheduled Sessions
Subject to change. What isn't?
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