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WINONA, Minn. — Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA) invites community members to the Ways of Watercolor exhibit at the Valéncia Arts Center, 1164 W. Howard St., throughout August.

The exhibit features artwork created by adults ages 55 and older who participated in an eight-session workshop to learn more about the ways of watercolor paint, thanks to a generous grant from Aroha Philanthropies.

Visitors will see a variety of techniques represented in the artwork, from wet-on-wet to still-life paintings.

The exhibit will be on display throughout August. Guests can visit at no cost during regular business hours: Monday and Tuesday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to noon.

Vitality Arts programs inspire and enable older adults to learn, make, and share the arts in ways that are novel, complex, and socially engaging. The work is driven by teaching artists whose creative process and understanding of older adults bring joy, connection, improved health and well-being, and a renewed sense of purpose to older adults in community and residential settings.

MCA was selected as one of only 15 nonprofit organizations throughout Minnesota to receive a grant from Aroha Philanthropies through its new statewide initiative Seeding Vitality Arts MN.

About Vitality Arts

The broad field of creative aging encompasses many things: arts education, arts in health care, creativity for those with dementia, and more. Arts education programs — those that inspire and enable older adults to learn, make and share the arts in ways that are novel, complex and socially engaging — make up a subset of the creative aging field. Often referred to as artful aging programs, they are led by teaching artists whose creative process and understanding of older adults bring connection, improved health and well-being, and a renewed sense of purpose to older adults in community and residential settings.

At Aroha Philanthropies, we’ve come to view these programs as even more than artful aging. With the term “Vitality Arts,” we aim to champion arts programs that keep us vital, joyful, and engaged by unleashing the transformative power of creativity in those 55 and older. More information is available at vitalityarts.org.

About Aroha Philanthropies

Aroha Philanthropies is devoted to the transformative power of the arts and creativity, inspiring vitality in those over 55, joy in children and youth, and humanity in adults with mental illness. We believe that learning, making, and sharing art enriches everyone throughout their lifetime. Aroha Philanthropies works to improve the quality of life of people 55 and older by encouraging the funding, development, and proliferation of arts programs designed to enhance longer lives, and by advancing the development of professional teaching artists working with those in their encore years. More information is available at arohaphilanthropies.org.

About MCA

The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA), an affiliate program of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, is a nonprofit community arts school offering programming in dance, music, visual art, and theatre. Classes, lessons, workshops, and camps are offered for students of all ages from birth through older adults at the Valéncia Arts Center. For more information about MCA or Galleria Valéncia, visit mca.smumn.edu, email mca@smumn.edu, or call 507-453-5500.

Photo caption: Artist Linda Speltz practices watercolor painting.

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