About 15 senior center artists and 26 students shared their work on Monday, as part of the Opening Minds through Art (OMA) showcase.  

“My highlight has been sharing this program with so many people thatI love in the community,” said Sabirna Clopton, the associate director and outreach social worker at the senior center.

OMA is an evidence-based program that pairs students with older adults for creative, intergenerational collaboration.The older adults — many of whom have dementia — are the artists, paired with student volunteers who encourage art to emerge from imagination rather than memory. The program emphasizes retaining strengths rather than dwelling on lost skills.

In May, Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order to update the state’s plan for supporting older adults. OMA was included as part of the initiative. Healey’s five-year roadmap outlined goals to make the state “a great place for everyone to grow old and thrive.”

The Senior Center has been able to collaborate with the Swampscott High School to hold sessions of the program throughout the school year as well as the volunteer efforts in the summer, thanks to a Title III grant from the Greater Lynn Senior Services.

Clopton said the next session is scheduled for the second quarter of the Swampscott school year.

Siobhan McDonald facilitates the program, leading the students and seniors through different art techniques and allowing them to have a space for open-ended creation.

“It came out of Ohio, and (OMA) has spread to become an art making intergenerational program, originally started for folks with some memory loss, that has now spread to all sorts of folks across the country,” McDonald said. 

John and Priscilla Tanzi both joined the class, sharing how much they enjoyed it.

“It’d do it again,” Priscilla said. “I just loved it. Every day it was fun.”

John said he had never done anything artistic before, but the multimedia aspect of the OMA program really resonated with him. He enjoyed the shapes, colors, and contrast with the paints, metallics and glitter.

“This was a really fun class,” John said. “It’s well worth it. Everyone should have this opportunity.”

Claire Connelly also agreed that the program was fun, adding that while she is an artist she still was able to learn new techniques and interact with both people her age and those at the high school.

“I wanted to get out and about,” Connelly said. “It was wonderful.”