Geezer Gallery: A Whole New Old

One of my dearest friends, Darby, is an 85-year-old peace activist who is busy reconstructing the establishment; my 86-year-old cousin has traveled to 106 countries and counting, as her October birth date requires she "be somewhere new, doing something interesting" (no small feat); for years, my daily dog march across beach dunes was with Vicki, a 95-year-old army nurse who drove a souped-up Charger and golfed every Wednesday. While I'm still not even close to these natural forces in either age or experience, I marvel at their lives and try to soak up as much wisdom and energy as they have to impart. And, they've got a lot to share. Obviously.

Amy Henderson feels the same way about elders in her purview. While she isn't even close to old either, on occasion she has been known to self identify as a geezer, and is committed to shaping our perceptions of what old means by creating opportunities to promote artists who are well beyond their salad days.

John Kloeck 

Henderson's vision began six years ago, when, after a 12-year hiatus, she returned to Oregon to complete a bachelor's degree in business. She also found herself drawn more closely to both art and civic engagement. And then the stars began to align. Henderson sat in an office talking with a supervisor about jobs in a low-income housing facility for seniors, and noticed the amazing art on the walls. The art was created by nearly destitute elderly people who spent their remaining days at the facility; their artistic contributions were their only legacy. The fact that the artists had virtually no resources to use—one man's work was made from garbage he collected on the streets and was "something any savvy art collector would want to hang on his or her own walls" made an impression. Henderson and the supervisor ended up talking about art classes as therapy and how there just wasn't funding for such programs that actually give so much to participants. About the same time, the Nike Doernbecher Freestyle project was born—a program that enables terminal patients to design their own shoes that are then auctioned; the proceeds go to the Doernbecher Children's Hospital to fund programs that help save lives. When Henderson learned about the project, and heard the real stories about kids who needed to create something, anything, she was moved. "The act of designing their own sneakers gave these kids an outlet, gave them some hope. Not only that, but their well-being improved with their simple, creative, and engaged efforts."

Henderson tears up as she tells me how elevated she became then—and still visibly is now—by such efforts focusing on art, unleashing creativity, and engaging communities. "Art is preventative medicine," she notes, "and the civic engagement piece is powerful beyond our imagination, giving people purpose...people helping people is amazing. I've seen what art can do, and what it means to help others thrive." Her ah-ha! moment popped soon after considering how the same benefits terminally ill children enjoyed could be applied to seniors needing creative outlets. She knew she could bring the same power to our often marginalized elderly through arts programs and community opportunities. She decided to obtain her master's degree in gerontology, and commit to helping older adults find artistic venues for their passions. Everyone Henderson has networked with in the past few years is just as enthusiastic about her cause. Networking led to brainstorming which led to even more ideas and opportunities.

Ron and Jane Wolf 

Enter Geezer Gallery. 

Moving at light speed to get the organization off the ground with its ambitious business plan and vision, Geezer Gallery boasts a core team of six serious volunteers, a board of directors of six additional key players, and a leadership advisory council of five who guide the group on community engagement via the arts. The organization has already gained 501(c)(3) status, forged some solid community partnerships, and continues with big, big plans for its bright and sunny future to not only support older artists, but to reframe our perceptions about what it means to be old through awareness events and community-inspired programs. "We are fighting ageism. We are changing the prevailing language and views about what it means to be old that have permeated our culture. We can't empower people until the messages change," thoughtfully notes Henderson.

Craig (Sullie) Sullivan

Aside from creating a stronger virtual presence with a comprehensive web site, Geezer Gallery seeks permanent space in the Pearl so "there's a physical home to promote our artists." The lack of walk-in gallery space hasn't deterred the Geezers at all, however. The group showcased its first artist (Ron Wolf) at Art on Alberta's Art Hop festival this past May, and attracted plenty of attention. Henderson and her crew also attend various community forums focused on issues linking creativity and aging, including the Coffee & Conversation networking night hosted by Life by Design NW, and a group sparked by the efforts of Amy Gorman. The Portland coalition meets for networking and is "elder focused on creativity for all people at different stages of their artistic lives" and is inspired by Gorman's book Aging Artfully: Profiles of Visual and Performing Women Artists 85-105 as well as Greg Young's film Still Kicking, which follows six of 12 Gorman's profiled artists who just don't show any signs of slowing down.

Patricia Fisher

Earlier this year, the Geezers were approach by Portland Community Media to be featured in the Face to Face: Community Matters program that highlights local organizations, enabling them to share information about their mission, vision, and services with the public. The program featuring Geezer Gallery will air later this fall. This television profile (and Gorman and Young's work) inspired Henderson and her team to gather even more film footage—footage that spans art therapy, the work of elderly artists, even person-on-the-street interviews discussing the language around what it means to be old—that will become a full-length documentary now entitled A Whole New Old. A teaser version of this film will be shown in conjunction with Still Kicking on October 20 as part of Primal Digital's film series on third Tuesdays in 2009.

Ed Bennett

The film project is incredibly exciting and one that also needs serious editing. The Geezers have been busy trying to figure out how to enlist some quality production assistance to move the project forward. "It'll come," says Henderson, hopefully. "We've got some serious momentum right now."

Moe Jerome

If you're already duly inspired about what's in store for the Geezers, and I hope you are, mark your calendars for next May 2010, as we celebrate Older Americans Month with an art festival co-sponsored by Elders In Action and Geezer Gallery. This Grand Works Northwest Art Festival will celebrate creativity in aging with workshops, discussion forums, networking opportunities, dance and music performances, and, of course, art. "We are thrilled at the exposure this large-scale event will offer our community", gushes Henderson, "and we'll need lots of support for that event, too." She smiles. It's all about the community involvement, recognition of an oft-overlooked vital segment of our society, and helping one another to create and share.

Jackie Buisman 

I ring my cousin, who comes equipped with extraordinary events planning expertise and I venture to guess just might be willing to join in the fun come May. She's interested! And, wants to chat about it more later, but is running off to a dance class with "some older ladies from her neighborhood." Some Geezers just don't slow down.