Senior living art class leads to gallery show to fight Alzheimer’s!

Stroll St. Petersburg, Florida, and you’re likely to chance upon an art fair or gallery show. The area is rich with artistic culture, which makes it no surprise that Linda’s art class for the residents at American House St. Petersburg is packed every Friday. Linda’s no-pressure attitude about the process of creating art appeals to seniors who may not have picked up a paintbrush or drawing pencil in years. Linda offers a safe space to experiment and let art happen.

All the interesting art accumulating in the community sparked an idea for Executive Director, Eugene Valentine. During a fundraising brainstorm session, he and his team thought, why not hang the art, have a gallery show and hold an auction with proceeds from the work going to support the Alzheimer’s Association. The spark took hold and the once-a-week class turned into three times a week, frames were purchased, a wall was hung with art … then more walls. The senior living community was becoming a gallery with well over 300 beautiful drawings, paintings and more. Residents strolled the halls choosing favorites and pointing out their own pieces to visiting family and friends.

The real joy in this is the creativity that was ignited in residents in all levels of care, from Independent Living through Memory Care. Linda is very passionate about art. Her view is, no matter where you are in your life, everybody can be an artist. “There are no mistakes in art,” she said.

“It’s not just a thing to do, it’s Linda’s world. Art with her residents each week is something she looks forward to,” said Eugene. During mealtimes, Linda is known to recruit residents to join her classes. “And when they come, they have the time of their life. There’s music playing, there are snacks up there, it’s a whole party every Friday.”

To accomplish the community’s fundraising efforts, a silent auction kicked off at their November Family Night and ran through the December 18 Family Night. Visitors were welcome to bid on any piece during that time, and in the end the community raised $1,000 to support the Alzheimer’s Association. This will be added to the approximately $2,000 raised during The Longest Day Walk, a cookbook project and other fundraising.

Full attendance in the art classes and abundant artwork on the community’s walls has created such a buzz that the residents do not want it to stop. It was decided to keep the initiative going. For now, the art program will continue and the gallery will remain, with the possibility of future fundraising.

“I see this initiative building and growing over time,” said Eugene. “I’d love to see local artists come in and teach classes.”

After visiting the community and seeing the artwork, American House President, Jeff Floyd, said, “The individual expression of every artist was shining brightly on each canvas and was simply exceptional to experience. The life enrichment team at American House did a fantastic job encouraging and capturing the unique abilities of each resident.”

With so much enthusiasm in the community, there seems to be no limit to the possibilities.

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