The University of Nebraska at Omaha and the College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media invites you to Memory Serves: Drawing Others Close an art exhibition featuring portraits by Dr. Mark Gilbert, Associate Professor of Art & Art History in the School of Arts at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
 

The exhibition will also feature Drawing to a Close, drawings depicting the end of life by Mark's late father, Norman Gilbert (1926-2019). “Norman Gilbert’s works transform deeply private experiences into shared comprehensions of love, caregiving, dementia, end of life, and bereavement.” – Mark Gilbert, PhD

Paintings will also be on display in the UNO Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center  August 26 to September 29. These paintings were created by people living with dementia as part of the Opening Minds through Art (OMA) program delivered at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. The art program is aimed at promoting residents social engagement, autonomy, and dignity through the experience of creative self-expression. Older adults at Rose Blumkin Jewish Home were paired with a trained student volunteer from the University of Nebraska Omaha who provided guidance during the art-making process.

Public Opening Reception

Friday, August 26 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM in Weber Fine Arts UNO Art Gallery

School and Group Tours

Available for scheduling during gallery hours starting August 26 to September 29, 2022. 

• Download Overview

Educational Resources For Teachers

Instructional curriculum materials that school teachers can use to incorporate into their classrooms. Below is a list of teacher activity ideas available for download.

• Memory Serves Teacher Activity Ideas 1
• Memory Serves Teacher Activity Ideas 2
• Memory Serves Teacher Activity Ideas 3
   

Videos

• Short film on portraiture and medicine from the Portraits of Care exhibit at Bemis
• Drawing to a Close

Papers and Articles on Mark Gilbert's work

Exploring the relationship between geriatric patients and their carers through portraiture: giving, receiving, observing & witnessing care (GROWing Care)

• Read Article Here

AMA Journal of Ethics, On Seeing and Being Seen in Dementia Care

• Read Article Here

Norman Gilbert Drawings

An Art-based Case Study: Reflections on End of Life from a Husband, Artist and Caregiver

• Read Article Here

Drawing to a Close: Essay by Mark Gilbert

• Read Essay Here
   

Additional Media

• University of Glasgow
• The Current: Mark Gilbert Interview
• Norman Gilbert: Drawing Pat
• The Toronto Star: Mark Gilbert

Please direct all exhibition inquiries – including scheduling school tours – to Patricia Davis, Curator and Manager of UNO Art Gallery & Collections, at patriciadavis@unomaha.edu

The exhibition is free and open to the public during gallery hours Monday – Friday, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM or by appointment.

Memory Serves: Symposium Event - September 22, 2022

In addition to exhibition, Memory Serves: Drawing Others Close, UNO's College of Communication, Fine Arts, and Media and other partners invite you to an international symposium event on September 22, 2022. The event features Dr. Kenneth Rockwood, a professor of medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia

• Learn More
• Register to Attend the Symposium 

Preview Works of Art

Event Sponsors

The UNO College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media, Dementia Services Development Trust, Humanities Nebraska, Nebraska Arts Council, QEII Foundation, UNO Gerontology, Geriatric Medicine Research, UNO College of Arts and Sciences, UNO Medical Humanities, and UNMC Geriatric and Palliative Medicine, and Lori and Paul Hogan.