Professional storyteller Kim Kilpatrick will present segments of a multidisciplinary performance which traces various views and stories on death and dying.
These stories were: taken from personal experiences, folklore, and stories Kim collected and crafted from patients, caregivers, and staff. on a palliative care unit.
For this project, Kim collaborates with other artists to make a rich performance and she will talk about this process.
Kim identifies as an artist with a disability and she will explore how her blindness was part of how she approached and adapted this project accordingly.
This show places the voices of people who are experiencing death, grief, and loss at its core and respects the wisdom of voices that are closest to the most common, most feared, and most ignored of human experiences: death. In this two-part performance, Kim will present an excerpt of a stop-motion film animated with oil paints on glass, narrated by Kim, with audio descriptions for people who are blind or partially sighted. Then, Kim will present a spoken word performance that interweaves three elements: Kim’s experience co-creating stories with patients, caregivers, and staff; excerpts from the various stories; and Kim’s reflection on how her blindness contributed to the process and facilitated openness, sharing, and vulnerability from participants. The film, spoken word performance, and stories invite attendees to reflect on life, death, and meaning, told through the craft of two disabled artists.
This submission was accepted for last year’s conference but I was unable to attend at that time.

As a family physician, chamber musician, and former hospital executive, Dr. Carol Wiebe uses her broad training and experience to design opportunities and spaces where people can find meaning and heal. Carol studied music performance (piano, flute) before becoming a family physician. Her medical career spans HIV primary care and elder care, with a gradual transition into leadership, including several years as Vice President of Medical Affairs at Bruyère, a large healthcare organization in Ottawa. Dr. Wiebe completed a Global Executive MBA in Healthcare and the Life Sciences in 2021, using the opportunity to develop and launch Radical Connections, a charity that brings together the arts and health care. She also continues to perform with the musical duo Concert Docs. Both Concert Docs and Radical Connections bring a great deal of joy to the participating artists and to people in healthcare.

COI Disclosure: Any direct financial relationships including receipt of honoraria, gifts, in kind compensation, etc.: The Ottawa Art Gallery will be hosting part of this event. My role there gives me no authority to determine who is chosen to present at Creating Space; I receive a monthly honorarium as their consultant Physician for Arts and Health from the Ottawa Art Gallery. This honorarium does not impact or influence the educational workshops I present with the Die Schone Mullerin group.