Older Artists in Westchester Address ‘Matters of the HeART’

An art show featuring the work of about two dozen older artists is beautifying the main lobby of Fordham’s Westchester campus.

“Matters of the HeART: Supporting Creative Aging Through the Arts,” is the latest in an annual series of exhibitions by Westchester artists who are 55 years and older. The artists and their friends and family members attended an opening reception for the show on June 4. It marks the first time that Fordham has hosted the series.

“Our mission is to foster and support creativity in older artists in Westchester County,” said Karen Sevell Greenbaum, chair of the exhibition, who works with the Westchester Center for Creative Aging (WCCA). “The art that you see here speaks to healthy aging.”

The show will remain at Fordham Westchester through June 11.

Greenbaum said that the exhibition of older artists’ work, now in its fifth year, is refreshing because it includes the efforts of lifelong professional artists alongside the work of first-time presenters.

“Artists tend to be solitary,” she said. “This exhibition works into our agenda of connecting and supporting older adults through their artistic interests.”

Fordham Westchester was the third stop for “Matters of the HeART,” which was funded by the Helen Andrus Benedict Foundation and presented by the WCCA. The show opened in the spring at the town hall in Greenburgh before arriving at the Andrus-on-Hudson Community of Elders in Hastings-on-Hudson.

That the show came to Fordham is the latest indicator of the University’s strengthening presence in Westchester County.

“We want to be a place where the community can be a part of our campus community,” said Carol Gibney, associate director of campus ministry at Fordham Westchester. Gibney said the campus is eager to host more exhibitions, including an upcoming presentation on the theme of “holy longing.”