Who Cares?

The worlds of caregiving, aging and art collide in the art exhibit on view through September 17th at Riverworks Artist in the House Gallery at Locals Farm Market in Poolesville. The exhibition by Rockville community artist Patricia Dubroof, is supported by a 2023 Maryland State Arts Council Creativity Grant. In this ongoing project, Patricia is learning more about caregivers by conducting interviews with both family and professional caregivers.  

In the past few years especially, we have learned just how “essential” caregivers are in our society. But they are often overlooked. Family caregivers are generally untrained, unprepared, overworked and unpaid. The jobs of caregivers are not glamorous. Professional caregivers are typically low wage earners. They are diverse, international, and often recent immigrants to the US.

Patricia has over 35 years of experience in caring for seniors through creativity and coaching. She developed arts and healing programs at many other local and national organizations. Patricia founded Women Leaders in Elder World, a group of caring and experienced professionals from a wide variety of disciplines providing resources for those needing care.   

She met hundreds of caregivers and realized that they have both common and unique experiences and stories that deserve to be told. She felt compelled to document the experiences, perspectives, and lessons from these diverse individuals to accentuate their value and contributions to our community. 

Patricia painted the “Who Cares?” portraits of those caregivers who left a visual impression on her mind. In the studio, those impressions became paintings on canvas, paper, or wood. She created these portraits to honor each caregiver and their unique qualities.   

Visit the exhibit and enjoy these colorful emotive paintings for yourself. You can nominate your favorite family or professional caregiver to be interviewed by Patricia Dubroof and included in the exhibition for her MSAC Creativity Grant-funded project “Who Cares?” Contact pdubroof@gmail.com with any questions. 

New items made and sold exclusively for “Who Cares?” at Riverworks include: aprons, tote bags, potholders, and golf/bike/dusting towels available in the Locals gift shop. A portion of the sales will be going to Riverworks for future programming and The Arc Montgomery County.