Seniors Partnering with Artists Citywide (SPARC) is a community arts engagement program that places artists-in-residence at senior centers across the 5 boroughs of New York City.  Developed in 2009 in as part of the Mayor’s Age initiative, SPARC is a collaboration between the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department for the Aging, and the city’s local arts councils within each borough.

 In the Spring and Summer of 2013, SPARC brought together 50 different artists to provide seniors at over 40 centers with creative programming including access to free public events displaying a diverse array of projects.  The curriculum, which I entitled LIFE MAPS, grew out of my interest in understanding the unique meaning and process of providing art instruction to older adults.  My interest lies in assessing the kinds of creative activities with which older adults may be engaged, so as to establish new possibilities for what aging can mean in the context of art education.

 The artwork displayed in this exhibition titled PROFILED! was created as a result of the collaborative efforts of participants of the weekly LIFE MAP collage class, and myself as their instructor. 

 The collages were created over several months and were based on weekly class assignments. In order to demonstrate the importance of composition, I placed a cut out silhouette of their profile over the existing work, bringing new meaning to the objects and images that make up the collage, and allowing them to frame their work in an innovative and meaningful way.  

The resulting body of work is entitled LIFE MAPS, and can be thought of as “personal geographies.” Maps are tools, subjective in nature, which help to guide and give direction, often to pre-selected destinations. LIFE MAPS can show us where we have been and where we may hope to go.  

The resulting body of work is entitled LIFE MAPS, and can be thought of as “personal geographies.” Maps are tools, subjective in nature, which help to guide and give direction, often to pre-selected destinations. LIFE MAPS can show us where we have been and where we may hope to go.  

Over the course of several months, we examined the appearance and design elements of maps, focusing on line, texture, point-of-view, and color. Participants were asked to select a theme by either reflecting on a significant moment in their lives, thinking of an individual who might have made a deep impact upon them, or exploring an aspect of their personality. Within their profile, they were to map out their chosen topic and create a collage that creatively expressed this theme.