HELENA, Mont. — For many seniors at the Rocky Mountain Development Corporation's Senior Citizen Center in Helena, a new art program is about much more than painting or drawing.
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The Holter Museum of Art says it recently received a $50,000 Blue Impact grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana to expand its Holter Healing Arts program. The funding is bringing new art workshops and art carts — kits stocked with sketchbooks, journals, and supplies — to the RMDC Senior Center and YWCA Helena, reaching older adults and other vulnerable populations who may not otherwise have access to creative programming.
For RMDC participant Hazel Johnson, the reaction was immediate.
"Oh, this is unheard of. This is awesome," she said.
Organizers said the program is designed to do more than teach art. It is meant to address one of the most pressing challenges facing older adults: isolation.
"As we age, people have more of a tendency to isolate, which can produce depression and anxiety and loneliness," said Mary McKitrick, senior center coordinator at RMDC. "And the Senior Center really helps to combat that."
Megan Genthner, Holter's healing arts coordinator for adult programs, said the goal is simple: make art accessible to everyone.
"Art has a very healing impact on your mental health and is really good for your soul," Genthner said. "We just want to give everybody the opportunity to access materials and classes."
The on-site workshops also give older community members a chance to try something new and connect with others — something McKitrick says has been in high demand.
"There's been such excitement about it coming," McKitrick said. "We set up a number of tables, and people overflowed into the dining room because there were more people than we anticipated. It was great."
Many participants arrive at the workshops feeling uncertain about their creative abilities. Genthner says instructors meet them exactly where they are.
"We walked through how to draw a stick figure because everybody kind of gives you that 'Oh, I'm not very good at art, I can't even draw a stick figure,'" Genthner said. "So that's what we did day one right away."
From there, participants progress through basic shapes, lines and color values — building skills and confidence along the way.
"We can draw anything," Genthner said. "We just have to break it down and make it easy into those simple shapes and lines and values."
Johnson, who has lived in Helena for just a year, says the workshops have been a gateway to both creativity and community.
"I've only lived here a year, so I've met a lot of people through the Senior Center, and things like this are fun to do," she said. "Things like this are free, and you get out away from your home. You stimulate your brain, and you just have fun."
Her advice to anyone on the fence about trying it?
"There's no wrong way to do anything, so just let it go and enjoy it," she said.
For fellow participant Chris Manos, the workshops have offered something he didn't expect: peace of mind.
"It has a good calming effect," Manos said. "I don't have to think too much from my past life — it was lots of detail that I had to worry about."
Manos says he values both the instruction and the sense of community the workshops provide.
"Well, first the instruction is great," he said. "The other is having other participants and just having the opportunity to learn something different."
He also sees the program as a reflection of what communities should be doing for their older residents.
"It's great to see that they are providing these sorts of services to the community, which is always needed," Manos said.
