The Art of Living with Dementia
Reframing Care
Join us for The Art of Living with Dementia, performance and panel discussion.
Watch Sam Simon perform his autobiographical play Dementia Man, An Existential Journey. In this one-hour theatrical piece, Simon takes the stage as a man facing his cognitive decline and asks the hard questions of what to do next in the face of what he calls “an existential journey.” It is a peek into the head and heart of the struggle with a broken medical system and a personal and family challenge. The play challenges the audience to imagine a meaningful future for the millions of people with neurocognitive disease, with accommodation and adaptation.
Following the play, participate in a Community Conversation moderated by Sonya Barsness, revisionist gerontologist, with panelists Sam Simon, lawyer and playwright; Laura Latessa, Iris Music Project cellist and founder; and Nephelie Andonyadis, gerontologist, theater artist, and educator.
After the panel, continue the conversation as you explore the Creative Aging exhibition and enjoy refreshments.
Questions? Please contact Donna Jonte: djonte@phillipscollection.org
IMAGE: Sam Simon performing Dementia Man. Photo: Adam Kissick-APAP
Nephelie Andonyadis, a theater artist and educator, a gerontologist, and a TimeSlips facilitator, works at the intersections of community, arts, and policy to help transform the culture of care, and care systems, for all older adults. She is the Resident Engagement Manager at The Mather. Previously she was the Arts Program Coordinator at Iona’s Washington Home Center and has been a lead artist and consultant with creative aging programs across DC. Nephelie holds an MFA from Yale University School of Drama, an MS in Aging and Health from Georgetown University, and tenure as professor of theater arts. She is a member Cornerstone Theater Company, a TCG/NEA design fellow, a DC Commission of Arts and Humanities Fellow, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Palisades Village. Her scenic and costume designs have been seen in regional theaters and around DC, where she was honored with the 2020 Helen Hayes award for scenic design.
Sonya Barsness is a revisionary gerontologist with nearly 30 years of professional experience in the field of aging and dementia. Sonya works to apply a new paradigm of dementia defined by the lived experience of people living with dementia. This paradigm focuses on the totality of who people are as human beings, not merely their “deficits” due to cognitive challenges. She is the founder of Sonya Barsness Consulting (SBC), which offers products and services to individuals and organizations to help people live well with dementia. Sonya is the creator of PersonHoodTM , which provides education and resources that support the PERSON with dementia in LIVING. She is also the author of www.beingheard.blog.
Lauren Latessa, Iris Music Project cellist and founder, has dedicated her career to exploring the ways music can infuse and transform communities. Under her leadership, Iris Music Project connects arts and aging, receiving support and recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts and Thome Age Well Program. In 2025, Lauren's research will appear in the Oxford Handbook on Music and Aging. Prior to founding Iris Music Project, Lauren's innovative work as the Manager of Music Enrichment for the Charles E. Smith Life Communities earned her awards and recognition from the Tarisio Trust, the Association of Jewish Aging Services, and the National Arts Strategies. Lauren holds degrees from Peabody Conservatory, Johns Hopkins University, and Northwestern University. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University.
Samuel A. (Sam) Simon started his career in Washington, DC, as a lawyer for Ralph Nader’s first advocacy group. He then spent 25 years as head of a public affairs firm. In 2021, Sam was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s. Despite the enormous challenges of this diagnosis, Sam has become “Dementia Man,” a powerful advocate through theater, using his own experience as inspiration to reshape the narrative surrounding cognitive decline. Sam calls his playwrighting and theatre work his 4th Age. His first play, The Actual Dance, Love’s Ultimate Journey Through Breast Cancer, was later turned into an award-winning memoir. Sam lives in Mclean, Virginia, with his wife Susan. They have two children and four grandchildren.
Sam Simon
Sonya Barsness
Nephelie Andonyadis
Lauren Latessa
About Reframing Care
This program launches the second year of Reframing Care: Mindfulness + Art at The Phillips Collection, which offers resources, support, and artful engagement for care partners and their loved ones living with memory loss. Through arts engagement—conversation, storytelling, improvisational play, art-making, and guided meditation—we reimagine our relationship to dementia in positive, hopeful, and practical ways.
The Phillips Collection is grateful to the Dosal Family Foundation for funding Reframing Care. With special thanks to Paul and Terri Balaran for additional support of the museum’s Creative Aging programs.
