Enliven day programme coordinator Janelle Kirkpatrick assists day client Gloria Manning at one of the workshops. Photo / Supplied
Enliven day programme coordinator Janelle Kirkpatrick assists day client Gloria Manning at one of the workshops. Photo / Supplied
Budding senior artists will have their work shown in Hastings City Art Gallery as contributions to a new exhibition.
Currently running, the 'Flirting with Form' exhibition curated by Andrea Gaskin will display new works by thirteen emerging older artists, developed over eight months during a mentoring project, Toi ako, between practicing artists and older people living in care.
This will be added to by work created by local senior creatives after they finish their final art workshop at the gallery on May 14.
About 25 day clients from Enliven Older People Services Day Programme and other local seniors have been taking part.
The workshops are put on at the gallery through Connect the Dots Charitable Trust which runs Making Moments workshops for emerging senior artists aged 56-91.
The seniors have taken part in ceramic clay workshops and will be working with painting in May.
"This is crossing a new threshold for some older people who may have never visited the art gallery before," Hastings City Art Gallery exhibitions curator Clayton Gibson said.
"They may have been to the library but not to the gallery just around the corner. This is a chance for us to show how accessible art can be.
"Most of the senior artists attending these workshops will have had no experience of art making for a gallery space before, so hopefully getting their work added to the exhibition for all to see, will be a very positive and empowering experience."
Enliven day client Carol Booth, pictured with Enliven community programmes manager Deborah Watts, will have tiles and a vase she made on display. Photo / Supplied
Enliven day client Carol Booth will have the tiles and vase she created at the ceramic workshop displayed.
She had never previously done art and enjoyed being able to create something from clay at the workshop.
Having her art on show is exciting and she wants to go to see it when it is on display and hopefully have it for herself later on.
Enliven community programmes manager Deborah Watts said the workshops and gallery involvement have been exciting for both the clients and staff.
"They're connected to the community, intellectually stimulated and expressing themselves in a way they may not have tried before.
"One of our clients, who is an artist, said he was thrilled to see his artwork (painting) on the gallery wall when he went for the clay workshop.
"He said it was the first time any of his art had been on display at a gallery and he still paints at home today."
Gibson said it is also hoped that the children and grandchildren of elderly people in the community will bring them along to the gallery to see the exhibition and engage with the workshops.
