Cultivating Connections Kick Off 2023-2024 Season

Cultivating Connections Kick off at Chatham Place at Mary Wade Assisted Living Residence.

138 Clinton Avenue, New Haven, CT 06513.

Friday, September 15, 10:45 a.m.

(11 a.m. - 12 pm refreshments provided)

From: Interfaith Volunteers (IVCG) and CT Garden Collaborative.

Contact: Dan Camenga, Executive Director, Interfaith Volunteers (475) 257-6538  www.carenewhaven.org

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Join us for the launch of Cultivating Connections, an immersive arts garden and culture experience for dozens of New Haven County citizens, aged 60 and older.

Working with Artist-in-Residence Kristin Eno, this creative and social program will bring participants together, as they create art and experience nature together.

"I am so excited to meet everyone and get to know new friends, and to spend time together in local gardens, both this fall and next spring.,” says Kristin. “I am looking forward to listening more closely to stories of vital memories and important life experiences, and to capturing them artfully, as we journey through gardens together."

“I will bring the tools of audio recording and transcription, photo and video documentation, creative and interactive storytelling, visual art and bookmaking. And I will bring my vision of building community among young and old, with the goal of reimagining the past, and building a more beautiful future, together.”

Hosts for this event are Chatham Place at Mary Wade, an assisted living residence that was designed to help seniors stay active in a thriving and caring community.

“Mary Wade is extremely pleased to be introducing and partnering the second year of the Connecticut Garden Collaborative Program,” says David Hunter, Mary Wade President & CEO. “The benefits of art with seniors have been shown to provide a sense of meaning and purpose, and additionally, it allows opportunities to improve cognitive functions, mood, and enhance motor skills and social interaction.”

The finished artwork from last year’s Cultivating Connections project will be on display at Mary Wade at Chatham House before touring other locations in the state. “Our Communities at the Public Garden’s Edge” was created by Doug Jones, last season’s Artist-in-Residence and participating seniors. Doug worked with them in a series of conversations over several months. This was followed by a well-attended and lively creation event at NXTHVN, where local seniors, volunteers and a girl scout troop co-created the art using Doug’s pixel technique.