“This project has been one of the great honors of my recent life as an artist….”
In July of 2018, I was approached by Acorda Therapeutics to participate in an awareness campaign focusing on Parkinson’s and OFF periods. The program, titled “Framing OFF Through Art,” involved three artists nationwide who each met with two people with Parkinson’s disease to hear their stories.
The artists created art pieces inspired by each person’s story. The artists then met the person with Parkinson’s who inspired the artwork to reveal the artwork to them. The program’s main focus is the “OFF periods” that some people with Parkinson’s may experience.
I was chosen as one of the artists and spoke with Sarah Diaz and Gustavo Pavon, two individuals with Parkinson’s. I then created the artwork and met them in February 2019 at Acorda Headquarters in Ardsley, New York.
The links and the videos tell their stories.
People often forget Sarah has Parkinson’s. Sometimes, she’s so relaxed that she has no tremor, and even she wonders if she still has Parkinson’s. But Sarah’s OFF periods can hit her at any time of day and then she’s fully aware of the diagnosis she received in 2010 at age 49.
Sarah Diaz was joined by her best friend Brenda Stallings and Pedro Gonzalez-Alegre. M.D.
When Gustavo’s left hand started to twitch in 2005, he didn’t think much about it. When his symptoms evolved from trembles to tremors, he sought a doctor’s advice and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Neither Gustavo nor his wife and care partner, Marcela, were surprised, instead the couple felt relief….
For more information on the program, please visit:
© 2019 Tim Kenney Fine Art – All images are subject to Copyright
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