Matthew Dettmer, MD; Michelle Duke, RN; and Kristen Tetzmann: The Leftovers
Category: Event Calendar
Date and Time
- Wed, Sep 3, 2025 - Sat, Sep 27, 2025
Location
Akron Soul Train
191 S Main St
Details
The Leftovers is a collaborative art project by Matthew Dettmer, MD; Michelle Duke, RN; and Kristen Tetzmann that bridges the worlds of healthcare, poetry, and visual art. This unique initiative uses medical waste and supplies—such as IV bags, surgical drapes, and pill bottles—as artistic mediums to explore the multifaceted impacts of healthcare on patients, families, and professionals. Through a combination of visual installations and poetry, the project invites reflection on the emotional, physical, and societal dimensions of medicine.
The overarching goal of The Leftovers is to provoke dialogue and contemplation about healthcare in America, emphasizing the human experiences often overlooked in clinical discussions. The project juxtaposes the tangible remnants of medicine with the intangible emotional and relational impacts, fostering a deeper understanding of the intersections between treatment, communication, and care.
“There are a multitude of languages surrounding healthcare: medical journals, articles in the press, and illness narratives. Poetry provides a mechanism to describe healthcare in ways that might get overlooked on other platforms. Consider two perspectives on cancer therapy: a comprehensive article describing the clinical efficacy of a certain chemotherapeutic agent as opposed to a poem that uses metaphor to describe the debilitating symptoms experienced after chemotherapy." —Tetzmann, Duke, Dettmer
Visit Akron Soul Train Wednesday - Saturday, 11 am - 4 pm.
