Creative Aging 2026: Art Is Essential

One group from the Congress Heights Senior Wellness Center looked at Sam Gilliam's work in the Phillips galleries, then went back to their center and made their own. They folded, rolled and pinned loose canvas, and let the acrylic harden in place so each piece holds its shape.

Everything here was made by older adults living with memory loss, some alongside their care partners, through six programs the Phillips runs with local centers. Every session starts in front of a work in the galleries and ends in artmaking. So you get quilts that try to turn music into fabric, collages and watercolors from a group that studied Howard Hodgkin, and clay reliefs from Reframing Care, the museum's monthly session for people with dementia and their care partners.

This is a community show, not a loan exhibition, and no critic has reviewed it. It is included with general admission ($20, seniors $15, 18 and under and members free). The next Reframing Care session is free on 26 October, 1 to 3pm.