BRUNSWICK, Georgia: June 8, 2009 – The Southeast Georgia Health System
Foundation, in cooperation with the McIntosh Art Association, is presenting
a special photographic exhibit, “Past & Present,” Thursday,
June 11-Wednesday, July 15, at the McIntosh Old Jail Art Center, 404 Northway,
in historic downtown Darien. The opening reception for the exhibit will
be held Thursday, June 11, 5:00-7:00 pm.
This unique exhibit, made possible in part by a grant from the Grassroots
Arts Program, was a collaborative project that involved Foundation staff,
local historic organizations, professional artists, high school art students,
Southeast Georgia Health System Volunteens, senior citizens and others
from throughout coastal Georgia.
According to Katherine Thurber, director of development for the Foundation,
11 high school students selected images from a collection of over 50 historic
photographs of local people, places, and events from the 1920s to 1960s
and digitally manipulated and enhanced the images. “Our goal was
to create an environment where local history, art, and technology could
be merged to encourage creativity in our young people and provide a connection
to our past,” Thurber says.
“Research shows that among senior citizens, especially those with
Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, long-term memories become
more prevalent and more easily accessible,” says Bryan Thompson,
the Foundation’s senior development officer. “We hope this
project offers these special seniors an interactive photographic bridge
to memories from their past that will help stimulate conversations with
other senior residents, family members and friends.
The exhibit is free and open to the public at the Old Jail Art Center in
Darien from June 11 to July 15. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00
a.m.-4:00 p.m. Following the exhibit, the project will be on permanent
display in the Southeast Georgia Health System Senior Care Center in Brunswick.
For more information, call the McIntosh Old Jail Art Center at 912-437-7711
or the Southeast Georgia Health System Foundation at 912-466-3360.
The Grassroots Arts Program is supported in part by the Georgia Council
for the Arts through an appropriation of the Georgia General Assembly,
and is administered by the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association.