Graduate student Tammie Rosser recently teamed up with Charlotte Housing Authority and Studio 345 to create an intergenerational storytelling project.
According to Rosser, who is working on a master’s degree in gerontology, the project was designed to bring older adults together with youth to share their experiences and talents across generations.
During a two-week period, students involved with Studio 345, a youth development program that uses digital photography and media arts, visited residents of Edwin Towers, a senior living facility operated by the Charlotte Housing Authority. Students were paired residents for activities and to interview them about their lives. Students also took portraits of their partners, and used the information from their interactions to create a digital work that told residents’ stories. Each portrait in the exhibit included a written and recorded account of a resident of Edwin Towers, told through a student’s voice.
“The project enriched the lives and empowered both older adults and youth through meaningful interaction and created lasting memories through social interaction and art,” noted Rosser, who coordinated the collaboration as part of a final class project related to intergenerational learning.
Studio 345 will hold a Third Trimester Celebration at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 29, at the Wells Fargo Gallery, McGlohon Theater, Spirit Square.