With Jamaica’s rapidly aging population, and with people living longer, it has been recognised that more will have to be done to keep seniors occupied well into their golden years.

It is with this recognition in mind that visual art classes targeting senior citizens are to be hosted with a view to providing more engagement activities for the marginalised age group within the Corporate Area.

The programme dubbed ‘Seniors Art Class’ will include painting, drawing, crocheting, and patchwork among other activities being offered to seniors to empower them with life enrichment skills.

The classes are scheduled to commence on Wednesday, September 20, in line with the academic school year which is now underway so that older adults can join their younger counterparts as if they themselves are heading out to school.

The Seniors Art Class will be held at Regardless, the former St Andrew home of National Hero Norman Manley and his wife, Edna. The initiative is being staged by the social enterprise group, Golden Designs.

Principal Director and Founder of Golden Designs, Shelly-Ann Thompson, said the entity is ecstatic about the upcoming programme primarily because it is being staged at Regardless and will be in-person.

During the height of the pandemic, the group hosted art sessions online, free of cost to seniors. Thompson said older adults from across the country logged on to the sessions which covered art forms such as zentangle, glass art, and landscape painting.

“For almost a year we had to host our art classes online due to the pandemic and the strain it placed on older adults to stay at home. Now that the regulations have been lifted we can again begin to engage the seniors through artistic expressions as we did before COVID-19, and how fantastic to do so at the home of Jamaica’s Mother of Art (Edna Manley),” said Thompson.

The group’s founder said it is also important to point out that the classes will commence in September which is being observed as National Senior Citizens Month. The theme for the month is: “Ageing: Jamaica Epitomizing Resilience and Greatness”.

“Learning how to cope with the pandemic means that seniors had to exhibit resilience, now it’s time for them to relax with the use of art while building new relationships and honing talents,” Thompson added.

Participants may choose to attend all three classes or select a specific art form of their liking. Painting and Drawing will be held as one class, while crochet and patchwork are stand-alone training sessions.

For more information on the Seniors Art Class, interested parties can send an email to goldendesigns60@gmail.com and /or a direct message to any of the social media pages on Instagram @goldendesigns60 and Facebook @seniorcitizensjamaica.