Our Founder

Our Founder

Meet the Founder of TimeSlips

ANNE BASTING is a writer, artist and advocate for the power of creativity to transform our lives. She is Emerita Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and Founder of the award-winning non-profit TimeSlips.org, which inspires and supports caregivers in learning to unlock the meaning and joy in elder care through creative engagement.  Her writing and large-scale public performances have helped shape an international movement to extend creative and meaningful expression from childhood, where it is expected, through to late life, where it has been too long withheld.

Her books include Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Elder and Dementia Care (Harper), Penelope: An Arts-based Odyssey to Transform Eldercare (U of Iowa), and Forget Memory: Creating Better Lives for People with Dementia (Johns Hopkins). Internationally recognized for her speaking and her innovative work, Anne is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and numerous major awards and grants. She believes that creative engagement can and should be infused into every care system and has trained/consulted with Meals on Wheels, libraries, home care companies, senior centers, memory cafes, museums, adult day programs, and every level of long-term care.

Anne provides engaging and joyful keynote talks across a range of fields. She is currently at work on multiple projects including EMC2, an effort to sustainably grow the memory cafe infrastructure across the United States.

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Catch Basting’s new writing at her Substack.

Books

A MacArthur Genius Grant recipient pioneers a radical change in how we interact with older loved ones, especially those experiencing dementia, as she introduces a proven method that uses the creative arts to bring light and joy to the lives of elders.

Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Dementia and Elder Care

A MacArthur Genius Grant recipient pioneers a radical change in how we interact with older loved ones, especially those experiencing dementia, as she introduces a proven method that uses the creative arts to bring light and joy to the lives of elders.

With more people living longer, it’s time to reimagine long-term care as a place we and our loved ones can face without dread. The Penelope Project follows an ambitious effort to transform a nursing home into a vibrant community through meaningful, challenging art-making that engages residents and inspires change.

The Penelope Project: An Arts-Based Odyssey to Change Elder Care

With more people living longer, it’s time to reimagine long-term care as a place we and our loved ones can face without dread. The Penelope Project follows an ambitious effort to transform a nursing home into a vibrant community through meaningful, challenging art-making that engages residents and inspires change.

Memory loss is often the most feared part of dementia, but playwright and cultural critic Anne Davis Basting challenges that fear. In Forget Memory, she urges us to move beyond our obsession with remembering and instead focus on creative, present-centered activities that can enrich the lives of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Forget Memory: Creating Better Lives for People with Dementia

Memory loss is often the most feared part of dementia, but playwright and cultural critic Anne Davis Basting challenges that fear. In Forget Memory, she urges us to move beyond our obsession with remembering and instead focus on creative, present-centered activities that can enrich the lives of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Videos

Select videos highlighting Anne’s work with the older generation

Recent Essays

Find Anne’s latest writing here at Substack, in what she’s calling the Little Caregiver Repair Shop of essays and musings, interviews and other wonderments.

Beautiful Questions: A Nursing Home Dream
Next Avenue, May 21, 2025

Engaging and Supporting Creativity with Elders.

Learn more about Anne by visiting her website where you’ll find a complete bibliography, current and former projects, and a list of speaking engagements.