INSTITUTE ON AGING

Seniors with Spray Paint: Graffiti Artists Aged 65 to 96 Create Mural at Institute on Aging

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FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH IS FOUND IN A SPRAY CAN

In August, legendary street artist ManOne and co-founder of Crewest Studio (aka Crewest) teamed up with the Institute on Aging in San Francisco to produce an innovative, first-of-its-kind graffiti art workshop to explore the effects of art and creativity on aging. Dubbed the “Crewest Anti-Aging Graffiti Art Program for Seniors,” over the course of three days, ManOne worked with dozens of senior citizens, many of them dealing with ailing health issues like Alzheimer’s, to teach them about self-expression, the history of street art and how to actually create with spray-paint. The workshop culminated in a dynamic graffiti art mural painted by the group of seniors on a 10’ x 6’ wall at the Institute on 1 of 2 Aging’s headquarters.

When it came time to brainstorm and decide on the theme for the mural, many of the seniors said the mural would exist long after them and would become part of their legacy. Crewest co-founder Scott Power recalled, “The participants were all between the ages of 65 to 96 years old, many of them in ill health, staring down the barrel of their mortality, and all they wanted to talk about were positive, life affirming things. Family. Community. Love. Peace. Social justice.”

Ultimately, the concept for the mural’s message that emerged from the senior’s creative brainstorming session was “One Love,” so they decided to call the mural “One Love.”