Arts Access

We worked with teenagers and older adults--together. Older teens have fewer options than younger children, especially during the summer, for participating in the arts. And once older adults' mobility is limited, their art-making opportunities can be severely restricted. During the six-week program, participants learned to create mosaics. Participants made individual mosaics (on items such as picture frames and vases, and as stand-alone panels) and the youth and some older adults completed a stunning group project which will be permanently displayed at Lyngblomsten, where the older adults live. While COMPAS built relationships with the participants, the strongest relationships were built between the youth and the elders. Ten youth (15 to 20 years old) and approximately twenty older adults worked with a COMPAS artist and assistant artist for six weeks. The teens were part of our summer youth employment program. We see a need for teaching up-and-coming artists how to use their talents to make a living, providing older adults opportunities to create meaningful art, and bringing different groups together around making art to start conversations and to spark new ideas and creativity. Making mosaics was a good match. Older adults could start and stop as their energy allowed. It allowed individual creativity and group activity. It provided an easy backdrop for conversation. It could be done by beginners and more advanced artists. Relationships started with getting-to-know-you activities but really grew while people chatted and exchanged stories as they made art. Relationships with the youth were strengthened as we brought in people to work on employment skills and think through career options. 2: By bringing the work site to the older adults' residence, and creating an easy-to-navigate work site layout, we removed many barriers. The work space was set up in a large tent on the grounds of Lyngblomsten so the elders could easily get to the work space. Tables were set up at a height that worked with wheelchairs, and aides brought the elders to and from the tent. One unexpected outcome was how much the teens helped the elders. When an elder didn't have the hand strength to cut a tile for their mosaic, there was always a youth nearby to help. Youth also brought supplies within easy reach of the elders. The work site was also easy for the youth to get to by either bike or bus. One of our favorite sights from the summer was the combination of bike handles and wheelchair handles that populated the work tent. We originally thought Lyngblomsten aides would need to help the elders with more of the project, but in very little time the youth apprentice artists took over helping the elders. This was without asking them, and they all reported that working with the elders was one of the things they enjoyed about the program. Having the work site on Lyngblomsten's grounds worked well to eliminate barriers, perhaps most importantly the barrier of fear. The elders were willing to give it a try because they knew they could easily leave if they did not enjoy it or if they got tired. The familiar location encouraged many of them to try the art form. We even had a few participants who re-engaged in other art forms, such as painting, to create something to put inside a picture frame they had made into a mosaic.