“It’s a collision of two worlds”: Meet the art program connecting teens with 100-year-old Canberrans
Posted on
If you loved ABC’s Old People’s Home for Teenagers, you will love this Canberra program connecting artistic teenagers aged 15-19 with the centenarians in our community.
Outside of your grandparents, how many elderly people do you sit down and connect with in a meaningful way? How many of those are aged 100 or more? The answer is probably none.
Rose Connors Dance, the creator of the Centenarian Portrait Project by Teenagers, realised this when she was living in Berlin—that her circle only contained people close to her in age.
Wanting to change this she reached out to an organisation connecting older people who said they were lonely with younger volunteers and when she came back to Australia it sparked the Centenarian Portrait Project by Teenagers.
View this post on Instagram
“The project is a way to honour, celebrate, acknowledge and understand the stories, the wisdom, and the experiences of people who have reached this incredible milestone of triple digits. I certainly learnt a lot more talking to people in Berlin than I ever did in my dusty old schoolbooks,” says Rose.
“It’s also teaching young people to be empathetic and to honour this wisdom, because you know, if you’ve lived for a hundred years you’ve got some incredible stories to tell and without a doubt, you have gone through adversity and seen many changes in the world.”
To help foster this relationship between centenarians and teenagers, Rose pairs up an artist with a subject and as the teenager begins their piece they chat and learn about the centenarian they are portraying.
“It’s a highly personal creative experience for young people,” says Rose.
“For some of our young people, it’s interesting for them to think about creating an artwork that’s honouring someone… that’s often a new thing and creating something that’s a gift that honours someone and has meaning for them, can be a very powerful thing,” Rose said.
View this post on Instagram
The program running in Canberra will be the culmination of six years of projects across each of the states and territories in Australia and will bring together not just artworks done locally but also pieces from across the nation.
“It’s going to be a fantastic way to come together and reflect on some of the most senior members of our Australian community. Their stories, their experiences and celebrate the artistic skills, generosity and empathy of teenagers, and bringing older people to the forefront and encouraging a further conversation about how our society treats older people and what we can all do to make that a more positive,” says Rose.
It’s not just the artist and subject that form a bond over the weeks it can take to create a portrait either—the families, friends and communities of those involved also become part of the journey.
“We had a fabulous comment from a gallery that was a part of the project that said it’s fantastic to look around and see centenarians being treated like celebrities that they are,” reflects Rose. “It’s not only two individuals coming together, but it’s two worlds colliding. Two worlds that otherwise wouldn’t have ever crossed.”
Rose also explained that for many of the centenarians who are involved, the project is it their first time getting their portrait done.
“I think to be able to say at 100 that you have done something new and have a way to reflect back on your 100 years and know that you have been able to share your life with a younger person is a wonderful thing.”
The Centenarian Portrait Project by Teenagers is currently calling out for volunteers, both teenagers and centenarians, to participate in the ACT round of the project which will conclude in May of this year at an exhibition for all to enjoy.
You can register or find out more here.
Feature image courtesy of Embraced Facebook.
