Merrimack Valley News

Lowell Senior Center Art Exhibition: July 5 - September 27, 2023

Reception for the Artists on Saturday, July 8, from 1:00PM to 3:00PM

The Lowell Senior Center276 Broadway, Lowell, MA

Contacts:

For info on the art show and reception: maxinefarkas@gmail.com (978) 349-8069For info on Senior Center programming: aerickson@lowellma.gov

The Lowell Council on Aging Senior Center's mission is to promote the well-being and independence of adults over the age of 60. A generation that grew up watching endless reruns of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland providing the solution to just about any problem with the call, "Hey kids, let's put on a show!" So that when Programming Director Aurora Erickson asked artist Maxine Farkas how to get the word out to 60+ artists about Senior Center resources available to them, the response was immediate…put on an art show!

The open call for entries went out this spring and 20 artists submitted the work that is on view from July 5 until the end of September. In addition to the artwork, the exhibit focusses on each artist's individual path to making art. Some have been working artists for all of their working life, some were interested in art as children but propelled into non art careers to support their families, some were told they just weren't creative, but found, after retirement, untapped creativity. All of the artists in the exhibition, who range in age from mid 60's to early 80's, share the same passion for making art and demonstrate that artists don't retire, they just continue to grow.

Some of the work will be familiar to regular patrons of Lowell galleries, from John Brickels Akron Asbestos, which evokes the industrial landscape of his childhood home, to Richard Marion's visual recreations of garden observations, to Brush artist Donna Berger's children's book illustrations. Garry Harley offered not only his abstracts but also a reflection on visiting the Omaha Beach Memorial. But the exhibit also features the work of those who began to seriously explore their love for visual art after retirement, M. Barbara Howes, who captures her love of nature in her work, and Kevin Carlson's small floral studies are two examples. 

This exhibit is made possible by the enthusiastic support of Council on Aging Director Kimberly Gagnon, Director of Programming Aurora Erickson and the Senior Center Staff, notably Tara Donnelly and Ray Destrempe. Funding for arts programming is supported by a grant from the Lowell Cultural Council and tax deductible contributions for continued arts programming may be made to the Friends of the Council on Aging Center. 

Because the 2nd floor of the Lowell Senior Center that houses the exhibit is normally only accessible to those 60+, younger visitors who wish to view the exhibit outside of the reception on July 8, are requested to call and arrange a guided tour during the week. For further information about the Lowell Senior Center programs, contact Aurora Erickson via email at aerickson@lowellma.gov or call (978) 674-4131.

Original source can be found here.