Milwaukee’s Superhero Team Inspires Book and Art Exhibition

November 8, 2019

The League is made up of six adult day care clients from St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care. Over the past 18 months, the group has created superhero alter egos while participating in TimeSlips sessions, which enhance people’s lives through imagination and storytelling.

TimeSlips, in partnership with St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care in Milwaukee, WI, hosted a book launch and art exhibition on November 7. The book, “The Adventures of the Righteous League” is a special collaboration between TimeSlips Certified Trainer, Elaine Maly, six St. Ann Center clients, and local artist, Emma Daisy Gertel.

The Righteous League members, ages 22 to 70, spend their day at St. Ann Center’s Stein Campus, which serves children, frail elders and adults with physical and cognitive disabilities. They meet weekly with TimeSlips Certified Trainer Elaine Maly. “It all began with a simple question: If you could have a superpower, what would it be?” Maly said. “From there, they came up with their original characters, costumes, archenemies and the most incredible adventures.”

There’s Super Jake (Jacob), a brilliant billionaire with lightning speed; Energy Man (Marcus), who uses his supercharged personality to help others get work done and Party Animal (Christine), who instantly turns a boring day into a fun one. Super Jesus (John) uses the power of prayer to help people make good choices; Super Reader (Diane) reads aloud to keep people calm, and G-Man (Gabriel) protects the city from evil using his powers of invisibility and healing. Gertel illustrated the book, with additional original artwork from Jacob and Gabriel.

“We are impressed with the creativity and dedication of this group,” said Shanness Williams, St. Ann Center Vice President of Activities & Intergenerational Development. “From the start, they decided they needed to be a team, because they would be more powerful working together.” Righteous League adventures range from saving the world from Lazy Man (Energy Man’s nemesis), who saps people’s strength, to opening a training school that teaches kids how to be superheroes.

“The point of sharing this amazing creative output publicly is to honor the gifts of these TimeSlips participants,” Maly said, “and to reduce the stigma around what people with disabilities are capable of.” The publication and artwork were funded by the Harry G. and Charlotte H. Slater Family Fund, the William and Alicia Schoenrich Arts and Culture Fund and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

I hope this will inspire you to include us in your year-end donation plans! Donors of $500 or more will get a copy of the book The Adventures of the League of the Righteous – a collaboration between artist Emma Daisy and the participants at St. Ann’s Intergenerational Day Center at Milwaukee’s Bucyrus campus – as they shaped and shared their “super-hero” stories over the last year.