Sound designer, composer, engineer, and producer Jim McKee, and composer and sound designer Barney Jones collaborated with LifeFlow to produce Shared Stories, an online audio installation featuring stories by and about family members who are caring for elder relatives or aging parents.
The need for families to better understand elder issues is profound: At the time this grant was awarded, a study by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP estimatesd that 44.4 million American caregivers, ages 18 and older, were providing unpaid care to another adult and the number of aging Americans was soaring.
Shared Stories is composed of eight six-to-eight minute audio compositions that weave together ambient sound, interviews and stories by diverse caregivers about their experiences helping people through some of the toughest ordeals of life. The audiographs are part of an ongoing LifeFlow internet program on elder care. The series was augmented by three one-hour call-in programs on radio station KALW and readings of works of poetry and prose that reflect on end-of-life care.
LifeFlow is dedicated to bringing comprehensive information and resources to families caring for an elder or providing end-of-life care. Its programs help families grow familiar with, identify, support, enhance, and advocate for quality of life for elders and aging parents.
Lead artist Jim McKee has extensive experience with the audio medium. He is an active owner of earwax productions inc., which he co-founded in 1983. With Earwax Productions partner Barney Jones, McKee enjoys the reputation of having been voted “best sound design team in San Francisco.”