The Sunshine Coast Hospice Society is presenting a series of events coinciding with The Art of Loss exhibition at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery, which is a collaboration between the Hospice Society and GPAG. The show runs until Nov. 4. These events are all open to the public and are an opportunity for people to think about and talk about the deep issues of grief and loss.
On Oct. 19, 7 to 9 p.m., the Hospice Society will host a reception for Art Crawl visitors to the gallery. Staff and members of the Hospice Society will be on hand to share information about their services and answer questions, as well as throughout the Art Crawl weekend.
On Oct. 27, 2 p.m. at the Heritage Playhouse, there will be a screening of a Vancouver made documentary, For Dear Life. This provocative film follows the journey of 46-year-old theatre producer James Pollard who, when diagnosed with terminal cancer, sets out to turn his dying into a lasting final project, rallying friends and family to become involved in preserving his body after death. As macabre as this may sound, the practicality by which Pollard approaches the inevitable offers new freedom and possibilities for dealing with death within a culture where we simply don’t talk about it.
With surprising humour, this highly emotional film walks the delicate line between grief and acceptance. Vancouver filmmaker Carmen Pollard who is James’ cousin, weaves raw family interaction, physician visits and the natural world in a multi-faceted view of death’s impact and its place in comfortable ritual and conversation. For Dear Life is a conversation-starter about a man who “lived until he died.”
Director Carmen Pollard, Dr. Paul Sugar and Dr. Marylene Kyriazis (co-founders of the Paul Sugar Palliative Support Foundation) will be in attendance for a discussion following the film. Admission is $10 at the door.
On Nov. 4, 1 p.m., on the last day of the exhibition at GPAG, there will be a reading by local authors Sharon Brown and Bonnie Klein. Brown’s book, Some Become Flowers: Living with dying at home, tells the story of bringing her mother home where Sharon was raising two small children to live out her final days. In Klein’s book, Slow Dance: A story of stroke, love and disability, she shares the story of her catastrophic stroke while only in her 40s with a teenaged daughter still at home. The theme of this presentation and discussion will be the impact of catastrophic illness and death on children and youth. Admission is by donation.
These events are made possible with generous support from the Town of Gibsons, Sunshine Coast Regional District, Gibsons Public Art Gallery, Sunshine Coast Film Society, and Gibsons Landing Heritage Society.
– Submitted by Donna Shugar
