The artistic talents of five residents from Bateau Bay’s Uniting Nareen Gardens aged care home have been recognised in a state wide exhibition.
Residents took out a merit prize in the painting and drawing category of Uniting NSW/ACT’s Art While We’re Apart exhibition, a combination physical and digital exhibition designed to put the spotlight on creative seniors across Uniting’s home care, senior gyms, aged care and retirement living services networks.
Utilising Aboriginal dot art to tell their individual life stories, a spokesperson for Uniting said that each line of dots in the painting is a representation of each residents’ journey to Nareen Gardens, with the various circles representing important life moments and the centre of the piece representing the aged care home.
Uniting Nareen Gardens Service Manager, Steven Wills, said all residents were delighted with the award.
“Residents were totally blown away by our win, it was surprising to all of us.
“Our inspiration for the piece came from curiosity, we have all seen dot paintings done but never really knew what the story was behind them.
“Recently, we had somebody explain the meaning to us by chance, so we decided what better time to all come together and share our individual stories and make a beautiful story.
“Knowing the time and effort that our residents put in to make such a beautiful piece of artwork, to tell their own story, they are so proud of not only themselves but of each other for the art that they created and winning a prize.
“It’s a lovely thing to see,” Wills said.
And all the residents who worked on the painting agree that it had been an enlightening bonding experience during a difficult time.
“It was a most interesting project from beginning to end and it was wonderful learning about each other’s lives and the events that were important to them,” said resident, Mavis Sendall.
Currently available for physical viewing in Sydney or online via Uniting’s Art While We’re Apart website, exhibition convenor and Uniting Lifestyle Specialist, Vanessa Ogborne, said the exhibition had been a great way for Uniting to maintain connection among its different services during the height of COVID-19.
The start of COVID-19 was a scary time for all of us and we wanted to help our people not just maintain a sense of normalcy but have an enriching experience.
“In May, we created an art competition that would keep everyone connected and engaged despite their physical distance and it was pleasing to see so many take up paint brushes with gusto.
“It was wonderful to see that people were staying connected throughout the process by sharing ideas and even collaborating on artworks.
“The idea was that even though we were physically apart, we were going to come together again to celebrate each other.
“COVID-19 is still a concern for older Australians and that’s why we are glad that everyone can still view the collection safely,” Ogborne said.
Dilon Luke