New exhibit at senior center showcases the art of aging

What began as an idea at a community meeting, Marie Eaton of the Palliative Care Institute and artist Sarah Lane created a traveling exhibit to show the experiences of older adults in Whatcom County.

During the month of February, the Blaine senior center will showcase “The Art of Aging” exhibition as it travels across seniors centers throughout the county.

The project is a culmination of the life stories of 20 county residents from 65 to 99 years old. Lane painted their portraits and Eaton conducted the interviews. On a wall at the senior center, the portraits reside with the names of the interviewees, and a QR code next to them that can be scanned for participants to hear the interviews. 

“We tend to paint broad brush strokes of older people,” Lane said. “65 year olds get senior discounts, but we don’t see the great contributions they’ve done throughout their lives.”

The goal is to communicate the stories people don’t usually see, center director Gordon MacGregor said. “These paintings and audio shorts are so interesting.”

“The Art of Aging” is part of a larger initiative of Aging Well Whatcom, and has the goal of shifting cultural stereotypes about aging. Aging Well Whatcom is a community initiative to encourage and affirm the health and wellness of older residents of the county.

After the initial idea at an initiative meeting, Eaton and Lane submitted a grant proposal to the Chuckanut Health Foundation and Palliative Care Institute so they could interview 20 people about their life experiences. Richard Scholtz, a Whatcom County musician and audio engineer, condensed the hour-long Zoom calls into five-minute interviews.

When finding interviewees, they sought to reach diversity in geographic representation and life experience, Lane said.

“Fishing, farming, business, nonprofits and different communities are what Whatcom County is,” she said. They reached out to several organizations, including agricultural, to find representation in those underrepresented.

The interviews took over a year because of the complexities of virtual interview scheduling.

During the calls, Lane found a common theme: Aside from everyone sharing their lives from childhood to now, she said they all emphasized how fulfilling a sense of community is. Whether it was when they were in the military or nursing homes, community is a universal importance.

Another common denominator Lane noticed was when the individuals were asked if there was a book or movie that represented their experience as an older adult. Each time the interviewees struggled to answer, which Lane said opened her eyes in realizing the general narrative of older communities.

“There’s nothing out there that represents individuals’ experiences accurately,” she said.

Lane will discuss the project at the Blaine senior center 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 23. People may also view the virtual exhibit at bit.ly/333Jsld.