Vitality Arts exhibit at De Young Museum showcases seniors' life stories and creativity
For budding and experienced artists alike, the Vitality Arts show was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to display their work in a fine arts museum setting. The open art exhibition, which ran at the De Young Museum in San Francisco through March, was the culmination of a community program designed to foster creativity and social connections among older adults. Our community became involved with Vitality Arts in 2023, when the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco offered adults over the age of 55 seven art classes, each eight-weeks long, taught by professional artists in a variety of media.
Members of On Lok 30th Street Senior Center and Openhouse + On Lok Community Day Services, affectionately called Club 75 by its participants, joined peers from other centers and community-based organizations to learn or develop new skills, focusing on experimentation and practice in painting and collaging. Together, they also took trips to city museums to view art that was relevant to what they were learning in class.
Whether seniors were mature artists or taking their first art lesson, everybody had a story to share. “When I draw something, it opens a little window of what’s in my mind,” said Irving Rivera, who attended the program with his wife, Ana. “There is so much to learn, I feel I will never catch up.”
The Vitality Arts Project For Art Museums, a national cohort of 25 museums, was made possible by a generous grant from E. A. Michelson Philanthropy. To learn more about the project and watch a video about how the program inspired our community, visit https://www.famsf.org/exhibitions/vitality-arts
