Older adult hands of multiple people making art

Fostering Dialogues was an arts-based action research project that brought together LGBTQ older adults and personal support homecare workers from Ontario in a virtual 12-week arts & dialogue program. This program explored themes of home, care, and futures of community-based care through facilitated conversations, art-making, and co-creation of a digital mural.

A main goal of this project was to learn how arts-based action research can help to create connections among LGBTQ older adults and homecare PSWs — as multiply marginalized groups in society and within care systems, to creatively reckon with present situations, and to imagine what could be otherwise.

This project page presents some of the results of this process of engagement, including an interactive collective digital mural and project report. For inquiries, please email research@egale.ca

Fostering Dialogues was led by Dr. Celeste Pang, with Dr. Brittany Jakubiec and social artist Melanie Schambach. We thank VHA Home HealthCare and Dr. Andrea Charise & the FLOURISH Collective for their support.

This project was funded by a CIHR Catalyst Grant.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Instituts de recerche en santé du Canada

Learn more about the Research Department at Egale Canada

Learn more about Melanie Schambach’s Artivist practice

Report

This report describes the process of arts & dialogue engagement and highlights some key research insights. It was authored by Dr. Celeste Pang, Dr. Brittany Jakubiec, and Melanie Schambach. Further publications are forthcoming.

Interactive Mural: Imagining Futures of Care

This digital mural was created through a 12-week process of engagement with LGBTQ older adult and homecare personal support worker (PSW) participants in the Fostering Dialogues arts-based action research project. This project explored how arts-based engagement could create connections among LGBTQ older adults and homecare PSWs and inspire imaginings about futures of homecare and community- based care. The mural represents one culmination of a series of conversations and art explorations that participants engaged in. The image speaks to presents and potential futures of homecare and is made up of multiple layers and participants’ individual art pieces melded together. The intention of the mural is to highlight different and shared realities and LGBTQ older adults and PSWs face, and to inspire conversation.

Fostering Dialogues by researchers Celeste Pang and Brittany Jakubiec, and social artist Melanie Schambach.

If referencing this mural, please cite: Fostering Dialogues project participants (2023). Imagining futures of care [Digital mural]. Egale Canada.

Please note this artwork cannot be used or reproduced without express permission of Egale Canada and Melanie Schambach. For inquiries, please contact communications@egale.ca.