This dynamic, interactive 3-hour workshop introduces participants to the methods and impact of Kairos Alive!, a 25-year nationally recognized, research-based social impact and advocacy organization. Through sensory friendly participatory arts learning activities, presentations, video, and Q&A, participants explore how Kairos’ tools and techniques use the visual and performing arts—especially music, dance, storytelling – and arts and health research to promote well-being in intergenerational communities.

 

Kairos Alive! is grounded in participatory arts practices that foster physical, emotional, cognitive, and social health. Research has consistently demonstrated the effectiveness of these methods, particularly in improving quality of life for elders and those with physical or cognitive challenges.

 

Workshop attendees will be welcomed into the Kairos Alive! Arts Club Nest, a safe, brave and inclusive space that encourages creativity, healing, and community. Within this environment, participants will be introduced to creative health practices they can integrate into their personal and professional lives. This is a place to discover, take creative risks, and find renewed inspiration through shared artistic experience.

 

Participants are invited to engage in interactive demonstrations from key Kairos programs, including the Intergenerational Dance Hall™, Dancing Heart™, and Moving Well™ training. These sessions feature adapted forms such as “chair dancing” and incorporate

“braiding” of folktales and music-theater narratives, making the experience accessible and joyful for people of all ages and abilities.

 

The workshop also showcases examples of collaborative projects with high school and college students, and with incarcerated youth, highlighting Kairos’ emphasis on intergenerational and intercultural engagement. A major focus will be the development and impact of the Kairos Clubhouse™, a two-way interactive webcast launched as part of a seven-year project. Research findings show that this virtual platform has helped reduce social isolation, increase positive mood, and strengthen feelings of community and personal value among participants.

 

Participants will review data from six research projects on Kairos Alive!’s work and how it aligns with broader research in the fields of Creative Aging and Arts and Health. These findings underscore the value of community-based creative engagement as a means of improving health outcomes and building social cohesion. Hands-on participation in painting, drawing, movement, music, and storytelling is encouraged but optional. The workshop culminates in a shared community performance, drawing on stories and songs from participants own backgrounds. No prior artistic experience is required—just a willingness to explore and connect in a sensory-friendly space.

 

After the conference, participants will be invited to stay connected with Kairos Alive! through live webcasts, training sessions, and access to an extensive video archive.

 

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand how Kairos programs promote elder well-being through participatory

performing arts, and arts and health research engagement.

2. Recognize how these approaches serve diverse populations, including youth, veterans,

and individuals with disabilities, and foster intergenerational and intercultural connection.

3. Gain practical ideas for applying Kairos Alive! practices in personal and professional

contexts.

 

Outcomes; participants understand:

1. Participatory performing arts promote holistic intercultural health and cohesion.

2. Virtual engagement tools can deliver meaningful results.

3. These methods are adaptable across service settings.

Parker Genné, B. Mus,, is a neurodivergent, brain-injured, chronic pain-managing artist, inclusive educator, care partner, and naturalist whose first language is music and dance. A graduate of the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Vocal Performance & lifelong dancer, she creates original multidisciplinary folk operas rooted in community stories & care.

For over 25 yrs, Parker has collaborated with Kairos Alive (KA), delivering intergenerational, arts-based programs in healthcare, education & community settings. She founded Folktopia, an all-ability band that activates community for connection in venues VA Medical Center, farms and museums. Her work centers on disability, caregiving, and folktales as tools for healing and connection.

 

With KA and Folktopia, she engages older adults, people with disabilities and care partners, using inclusive, trauma-informed voice and movement practices. Her cabaret Ms. Luisa Eats, inspired by her Italian ancestry, was praised at the Edinburgh Fringe for its mix of opera and comedy.

 

Supported by Minnesota State Arts Board and Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MN), USA, Parker teaches trauma-informed pedagogy for all ability classrooms. She dedicates her work to radical inclusion, using storytelling and arts to promote healthy aging and community care—honoring her ancestors, especially her mother, Maria Genné, founder of

Kairos Alive!

 

Elinor Genné, BFA, is a dynamic leader with a career bridging the arts, education, and strategic operations across corporate, government, and nonprofit sectors. A painter and dancer, she is currently Executive Director of Kairos Alive. She fosters innovation, intergenerational engagement, and organizational growth through arts-based health and wellness programs.

 

Elinor’s lifelong dedication to the arts began in childhood as a performer in Young Dance and evolved through lead roles in Shakespearean theater. Her academic work included a semester studying dance at the University of Ghana and running the food bank in Oberlin, OH as an arts student at Oberlin College.

 

Elinor held curatorial roles at The Textile Center and The Tychman Shapiro Gallery, deepening her commitment to community engagement. In public service, Elinor played a key role in New York City’s Pre-K for All initiative, advancing equity in early childhood education in collaboration with families, educators, and policymakers. A profound family legacy of civil rights advocacy informs her work.

 

Since 1999, she has contributed to Kairos Alive’s intergenerational mission, performing and now leading the organization. Elinor’s cross-sector experience exemplifies how the arts can inform evidence-based policy and practice for aging populations.