MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Maplewood Senior Citizens Residence on Irvington Avenue in Maplewood will soon be teeming with budding Picassos as the residence debuts SeniorStudio, a new arts program sponsored by Maplewood Township’s Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs. The program is being run in the building’s Community Room and will be open to any full time resident.
Participants of the program will engage in two-hour classroom sessions once each week, with an additional day of open studio time should they wish to continue working on their final projects. In addition to their classroom instruction, attendees will also have the opportunity to visit the 1978 Gallery in Maplewood, as well as a local art museum for added context to what they are learning.
SeniorStudio is a nonprofit arts organization that focuses on senior wellness and providing mentally stimulating arts activities for the senior citizen population.
The program was developed approximately two years ago by longtime Maplewood resident Dan Kaslow, who has done extensive research into the relationship between neuroscience and the positive cognitive effects that making art can have on seniors.
After successfully launching the pilot in Newark in the summer of 2015, in partnership with the Newark Housing Authority, Kaslow began looking for other local communities to which he could bring the innovative program.
“I reached out to Maplewood Township Administrator Joseph Manning and talked to him about possibly bringing the program to Maplewood,” Kaslow said in a recent interview with the News-Record. “He was very receptive to the idea and our visions were aligned because at that time expanding services to the senior community was of high priority to the township. I then made a formal presentation to the former director of recreation and cultural affairs, Keith Knudsen, and he let me know that the township would support the program.”
Kaslow said that, although he is not an artist, his longtime involvement with the nonprofit Elders Share the Arts is what inspired him to start the SeniorStudio program.
“Elders Share the Arts is a nonprofit for arts and the aging right in New York City, and through my time volunteering on their board and various events, I became very fascinated by the work that they do,” he said. “I wanted to see if there was a way to replicate their programs and bring them to New Jersey.”
Kaslow said that he soon realized that one of the main obstacles for doing an exact replica of ESTA programs in New Jersey is transportation; senior residences in New York City are often situated near community centers or public transportation, which isn’t always the case in New Jersey.
“Accessibility is an issue, and I wanted to eliminate any obstacles that would keep people from benefiting in this program,” he said. “I have found that those living in senior living residences are not served as strongly as those with a defined disability, such as dementia or Parkinson’s disease, and there is more funding available for those with those diagnoses.”
Kaslow also noted that although there are many other arts programs available for seniors, many are recreational in nature.
“We wanted a research-based program where the objective is to learn a new skill in sequential steps,” he said. “This is more along the lines of a formal academic course, and studies have shown that a formal curriculum has a defined cognitive health benefit.”
In fact, the curriculum for the new program was specially designed by retired Columbia High School arts teacher Onnie Strothers. Kaslow also formed partnerships with Essex County College and Rutgers University-Newark and a teaching assistant for the class was selected from ECC.
At the conclusion of the course, a formal gallery exhibit of the students’ work will be hung in the Community Room of the residence.
“This program is designed specifically for people who have no prior art experience and majority of the class (has) never been to an art gallery or museum,” Kaslow said. “Those who will have the greatest cognitive benefit are those who have no prior experience.”
In addition to sponsoring the costs of the materials and instructor for the class, the township will be supporting the class and helping to execute the program during its Maplewood run.
“There’s really a lot of lessons to be learned from this and it’s a real experience,” interim Maplewood Recreational and Cultural Affairs director Melissa Mancuso said in a recent phone interview with the News-Record. “It’s science and it’s socialization and an opportunity for everyone to speak the same language through the art.”
Mancuso said the township will be organizing the transportation for SeniorStudio’s field trips and is excited the program is so accessible for the residents.
“The senior citizens in this building have voiced their concerns about feeling isolated from other activities available in Maplewood because of the location of the residence,” Mancuso said. “This program could be the bridge to meet the needs of our senior citizens even more. Our long-term goal is to engage these seniors and make it a possibility for them to be involved in the other activities available in town. It’s great to know that it’s never too late to pick up a paintbrush.”
Photos Courtesy of Melissa Mancuso and Dan Kaslow
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