A project of End in Mind, The Art of Difficult Conversations is a virtual space for people to practice the skills necessary for having difficult conversations about the challenges we all inevitably face – from tough discussions about work or family, to talking about illness and decline, death and dying, or grief and loss. We do this by using art as a doorway into exploration.
AODC Began With a Question
How can we develop our capacity for talking about what’s hard in life when we naturally want to avoid the discomfort it causes?
That’s why we’re here.
We believe that being curious in the face of hardship expands our ability to navigate what’s hard in life. To explore this, we visited with artists to see how the skills used in their art might transfer to tools that can support more engaging conversations, including the hardest ones. Practicing skills such as presence, witnessing, listening, affirming, and more — helps us focus on possibilities for greater understanding, deeper relationships, working together, and even laughter and joy.
Opportunities to have important hard conversations are everywhere. When we get better at staying present when things get tough, we believe we live and die more fully, ultimately changing ourselves and the world.
Meet the AODC Crew
Cathy Wurzer
AODC Project Lead, Founder of End in Mind, and broadcast journalist
Christy Moe Marek
AODC Content Creator, End of Life Doula; End in Mind Board Member
Michael Nelson
AODC Content Creator, Arts Educator
Amy Hero Jones
AODC Coordinator, Former Operations Manager, End in Mind
Paula Engelking
AODC Producer
Jodi Chromey
AODC Website Creator
Matt Ehling
AODC Videographer
Katherine Loudenslager
AODC Video Editor
