[Archived] Mayor Celebrates Older Adult Art Exhibit at City Hall

For Immediate Release: June 22, 2016

On June 21, Mayor Allison Silberberg attended a special reception at City Hall celebrating an exhibit of paintings and artwork by older adult artists in Alexandria on display in the Vola Lawson Lobby.

The event was hosted by the City in collaboration with the Arts for the Aging, Inc. (AFTA) and featured the artists who are participants in an AFTA program at the Alexandria Adult Day Services Center (ADSC), which offers services to seniors 55 years and older who may need assistance and who may not want to or cannot stay at home alone during the day.

AFTA has partnered with the ADSC for almost two decades, providing art workshops led by AFTA Teaching Artist Carol Siegel. AFTA is dedicated to engaging older adults through immersion in visual, musical, performing, literary and intergenerational arts programs, which increase memory, emotional well-being and social bonds vital to older adults, especially those who feel isolated due to physical and cognitive impairments. 

In her opening remarks, Mayor Silberberg underscored the value of the cooperation between AFTA and ADSC in making a difference in the lives of Alexandria residents who are aging. Speaking to the artists in attendance, the Mayor also expressed her gratitude for their contributions to art and the City.

Karla Kombrink, a participant at ADSC and one of the artists in attendance who also spoke at the event, reflected that creating her self-portrait for the exhibit enabled her to see the beauty of aging and appreciate art as a powerful expression of identity and affirmation of life.

The exhibit at City Hall is the latest of many partnership projects between AFTA and ADSC, including art exhibits at the Alexandria Black History Museum and the Joan Hisaoka Healing Gallery in Washington, D.C. and an intergenerational art and music experience with piano students at Episcopal High School.

The exhibition is open to the public during business hours through June 28. For more information about ADSC, please call 703.746.5676. For more information about AFTA, please email info@AFTAarts.org or call 301.255.0103.