The Arts and Older Adults

Vasilios Billy Mavreas

Visual Arts

As someone who has worked with people of every age, I feel deeply that every person not only has something to say but has a deeply personal way of saying it and this is especially true for older folks. I love giving the opportunity for creative exploration to people who have worked all their lives but have seldom allowed themselves to play. I love watching folks get experimental with techniques and materials, surprising themselves with new found innovations and bonding with their peers over a renewed sense of play. In my workshops there is laughter, collaboration and a general release and relief at finding art freeing and fun. We shake it loose together, keeping it light on the one hand and allowing for the shadows of deep experience to show themselves. Workshops are open to all, with options available for specialized workshops for men.

Sample workshop:

Poetry To See : Creating Visual Poetry.
In this workshop we’ll explore the possibilities of Visual Poetry, a growing international movement. We’ll investigate the gestures and spaces between writing and drawing, using mixed media, to create poems that can be read in any direction, flowing freely across the page. Poems that are seen as well as read!

We’ll use collage, rubber stamps, stencils and good old pens and pencils to express our personal poetry in new and experimental ways. No ready made poetry is necessary. All poetic compositions will occur within the workshop. No art experience is necessary either, just a willingness to try things out and a readiness to play!

Materials:

Paper and any mark making tools (pens, pencils, rubber stamps), scissors and glue sticks. I provide found vintage collage materials.

Available for:

In-person workshops, On-line workshops

Language(s) of facilitation:

English, French, Greek

Contact:

billymavreas@gmail.com

http://billymavreas.blogspot.com/

Montreal

Land Acknowledgement

ELAN is an official minority language organization within a country that recognizes two languages as official. ELAN is located in Tiohtià:ke, the original name for Montreal in Kanien’kéha, the language of the Mohawk—also known as Mooniyang, which is the Anishinaabeg name given to the city by the Algonquin. While we are based in this city, our projects have also taken place in many regions across Quebec.

We acknowledge the colonial origin of English and French in Canada, and recognize that both languages benefit from official status throughout the land. The province that we know as Quebec is an amalgamation of the traditional territories of the Innu and Inuit nations, Algonquian nations, as well as the Mohawk nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Kanien’kéha and Anishinaabemowin are but two of the original languages of this province; Atikamekw, Cree, Inuktitut, and Innu-aimun are also among the many Indigenous languages spoken across Quebec as majority languages, all well before French and English.

ELAN acknowledges the important work being done by First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to revive the traditional languages of these territories, and their advocacy for the official status of Indigenous languages.

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