SENIOR RESIDENCE RECEIVES ARTS INITIATIVE GRANT

From left: Mary Alice O’Brien, Abby Dixson-Boles and London Hayes at the Wartburg exhibit.

Wartburg, an award-winning provider of comprehensive senior residential and health-care services is the recipient of the 2023-24 Mount Vernon Arts Initiative Grant presented by

ArtsWestchester, which is designed to help Westchester County artists and local cultural organizations enhance the services they provide to Mount Vernon Residents.

The program, a partnership with Sarah Lawrence College students and led by the Mellon Foundation Humanitarian Fellow Dr. Emily Bloom, consists of teaming Wartburg residents and community members to create an exhibition titled “Our Photos: Images of Care” that debuted Dec. 13, 2023 in the Gatz Conference Center. The exhibit will also travel to Hudson River Museum, Sarah Lawrence and then back to Wartburg in the new Berkemeier Living Center.

The museum quality exhibition, speaker series and hands-on-workshop aims to educate the community about the history of photography and its role in everyday life, to help seniors preserve and share stories about the photographs that matter to them and create intergenerational conversations about media, history and preservation. Participants discussed the significance of “vernacular photography” or photographs of everyday events like family vacations, class photos, or local festivals, as well as explored recent museum practices designed to showcase these ordinary photographs alongside traditional works of art.

Located in Westchester County Wartburg offers integrated, comprehensive senior residential and health-care services. Unlike conventional retirement communities, Wartburg provides a wide range of services to both residents living on its beautiful 34-acre campus and people in their own homes. From independent, assisted living and award-winning nursing home care to inpatient/outpatient rehabilitation, home care and adult day care services, its continuing care approach has earned Wartburg a trusted reputation, and was named one of the “Best Nursing Homes in New York State” by “U.S. News & World Report” for the 12th consecutive year in 2023.