Vibrant waterscapes, woods, florals and fields greet visitors to the Christwood retirement community as bimonthly art shows return to its Atrium Gallery for the first time in more than two years.
Dozens of oil paintings, watercolors and pastels by 23 regional artists — all meditations on the healing properties of nature — comprise the largest and most varied exhibition in the gallery’s nine-year history.
Organizers marked the occasion with music, food and festivities at the June 4 opening. The show will remain on display to the public at the Covington campus through July 30.
“Our art gallery is opening for the first time since the pandemic,” said Ann Loomis, show curator and director of community life at Christwood. “Everybody is so excited about that, the residents and the artists.”
The show also marks the launch of a new initiative that advocates for the arts as tools for healing, as well as the not-for-profit retirement community’s 25th anniversary.
In March, Christwood launched its new Healing Arts Initiative to enrich the lives of its residents through music, dance, visual art and more. The initiative is backed by a foundational fund earmarked for programming and a new gallery board made up of residents and community leaders, of which Loomis is president.
The move makes official the arts-forward approach Christwood organizers have taken for years at its Covington campus, which serves independent retirees as well as seniors with advanced medical and memory care needs.
While the gallery may be the heart of the arts at Christwood, the bimonthly art shows are just one of many colors in the Loomis’ palette.
In the past, collaborations with the neighboring Christ Episcopal School — like caroling at Christmas, pen pal exchanges and storytelling events — have brought generations together through the arts.
Two years ago, with the common spaces shuttered by the pandemic, Loomis and her team got creative and took advantage of Christwood’s 117 acres. Historian Peggy DesJardins built an outdoor labyrinth out of cedar needles modeled after one inlaid into the floor of the Chartres Cathedral outside of Paris in the 1200s. As residents and visitors alike meandered the circuitous routes in contemplation, they were accompanied by harp music or tonal sound baths.
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The Healing Arts Initiative will give Christwood more room to work arts opportunities into day-to-day life at the senior living community. A hands-on art and music program for residents of the memory care facility is in the works and will be in place by the end of the year if all goes to plan, Loomis said.
Both disciplines have been shown to enliven those struggling with dementia, she said.
“We’ve always thought this way. Now we’ve just named it,” said Loomis, former director of the St. Tammany Art Association. “The thought is, all of the arts — visual, music, literary, culinary, poetry and more — are important. They give meaning to our body, soul and culture.”
Many of these activities also give residents and the outside world an excuse to mix and mingle, another healthy benefit.
Much of the community’s arts programming is open to the public, as are the on-site spa, fitness center and restaurant, which remain popular shared spaces. Public programming also includes pop-up markets, lecture series and Mardi Gras parades.
The overall aim is connection, whether it be through arts or other means.
“Christwood’s mission is to serve older adults, and it is a reflection of real life to have broad-based relationships,” said Director of Communications Elizabeth Jackson. “These relationships enhance the quality of life for all who join together.”
Or, as Loomis puts it, Christwood wants to be part of the community at large, not just sitting on the sidelines. And after being benched by the pandemic, Christwood organizers see the Healing Arts Exhibit as a colorful and welcome return to the action.
“This show is something to draw people to campus. It’s really exciting to have gathered this caliber of artist,” Loomis said. “My job is to create a flourishing community of connection. The arts are very much part of that.”
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