Life & Work with Mary Crescenzo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Crescenzo.

Hi Mary, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My life-long passion and involvement in the arts, as a professional and multi-hyphenate creative as well as a master teaching artist and arts advocate for community accessibility to the arts, has always lead me to explore the importance of arts in society.

I found myself especially drawn to underserved populations when it came to offering exposure to the arts and providing an experiential process of making art with these communities. What often goes along with such populations are issues of social justice and what I’ve always seen as the need for art in unlikely places. Living a parallel life of a multidisciplinary artist (writer, singer, actor and installation artist) in my own right while serving the community as a cultural worker and community artist, I began to focus on utilizing arts engagement with adults with special needs and eventually those living with Alzheimer’s and dementia. I had no idea that my pioneer work in the development of arts engagement programs back in 1994 with persons with Alzheimer’s would lead to writing my book, The Planet Alzheimer’s Guide: 8 Ways the Arts Can Transform the Life of Your Loved One and Your Own, and my play, Planet A, a social drama about the inner world of this disease which was recently staged in LA as a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association.

What I’ve come to know is that the creative spirit is in all of us, and that self-expression is a right, an innate gift. As an artist, I believe it is my responsibility to share my art with others as a way of articulating my perspective by shedding light and making waves in the world as I see it, and as a healing tool for others in the name of creativity, dignity, empowerment and self-expression. So here I am living in Topanga, a native New Yorker residing in a state where I have always wanted to reside. Before Covid hit, I had the privilege of working as a master teaching artist with families at Haven Hills Domestic Violence shelter in the Valley. During the height of Covid, I found the inspiration to write The Planet Alzheimer’s Guide to share my methods of “Care through the Artssm” for personal and professional care partners as a how-to guide utilizing art with persons with Alzheimer’s. What’s next? With Covid waning, I’m returning to public speaking about the value of arts engagement and performing with my Jazz trio, MC3, while continuing my journey of sharing art experiences with others.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I started my arts engagement programs in Tulsa in 1994, although they were sanctioned by the arts council there, the staff at the most Alzheimer’s care homes I visited didn’t know what to make of me arriving with paints, songs, scarfs for movement, storytelling and poetry prompts, etc. to create arts experiences for their residents. Any interactive work scheduled for residents by activity directors (now, called “life enrichment” personnel) was sparse, if at all. If there was anything scheduled for residents, it was a one-activity-fits-all, one-off event where the idea that everyone should do the same activity in the same way was naïve at best and dismissive at worst. The concept that a person with this disease could respond uniquely, creatively and positively to an art experience was suspect. I was asked if I was a volunteer, ignored by staff uninterested in the process, or seen as a threat to the status quo of sitting residents in front of a TV or simply ignoring them as much as possible. With patience and fortitude, I was able to educate administrators and activity directors that a resident’s quality of life could be improved through arts engagement, and that interaction, stimulation and relaxation among participants would result in joy and validation. At some facilities in my native New York where I later returned, I received the same skeptical responses, but to be fair, there were settings in both Tulsa and New York where my programs were curiously yet graciously welcomed with open arms.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have been passionate about and participatory in all of the arts my entire professional life. At this point in time, besides being a Jazz singer and playwright in Los Angeles, it is one of my goals to share with others what I have learned about making art, and encourage as a mentor, those who want to live the artist’s life and the teaching artist’s life, to persist and pursue. As a public speaker and workshop facilitator in arts advocacy and arts engagement, it is also my mission to let care partners know, through my book, talks and conference workshops, that anyone can find connection and communication with loved ones through arts engagement. I am most known for my continued pioneer work in utilizing art as a catalyst for meaningful arts experiences for both care partners and those with those living with Alzheimer’s. I am most proud of the opportunity to reach out to others who feel lost when dealing with family members or friends with this disease through the public forum of my book and my play, Planet A, as a means of providing awareness and dispelling myths about this disease. As for what sets me apart from others, I think it’s my drive to encourage people of all kinds to embrace what the power of art can do in their lives.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
As for happiness, it’s knowing that life is like a rollercoaster.  The longer you live, the more ups and downs you’ll encounter. To get through it all, you just have to hold on. What makes me happy? My grandchildren, my family, good health, and, of course, singing, dancing, making art, and sharing the joy and provocative thoughts that art can bring.

Pricing:

• My book is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HG2T691

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marycrescenzo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormarycrescenzo/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/marycrescenzo
• Youtube: https://alzheimersspeaks.wordpress.com/?p=30896
• Other: https://anchor.fm/mary-crescenzo

Image Credits
My headshot: Vaney Poyey