Dougherty Valley High Students Awarded For 'Beauty of Age' Art Project

SAN RAMON, CA- The “Beauty in Age” portraiture project, a collaboration between the Parks and Community Services Department and Dougherty Valley High School, was awarded the California Parks and Recreation Society’s (CPRS) Aging Section Award for “Creating Community through Partnerships and Collaboration”. The award was presented at the annual CPRS Conference in Long Beach on March 10, 2016.

The “Beauty in Age” portraiture project was born out of a desire to give back to the seniors and the senior center. The mission has always been to strengthen intergenerational and multicultural engagement, and to increase exposure to, and awareness of, the beauty in every stage of life. Additionally, the “Beauty in Age” project provides a sense of accomplishment to the students as they take pride in their work, practice public speaking skills, and learn to build bonds with people different from themselves.

“I am so honored to work with such talented, motivated and thoughtful students, in a community that embraces the arts,” said Kelsey Wengel, Fine Arts Teacher at Dougherty Valley High School. “This project grows in popularity each year, and has become a staple of our AP Art program.”

The project began with interviews in November. Twenty-one Dougherty Valley High students were paired with individual senior volunteers and two students interviewed couples. The students gathered information regarding that individual’s background, interests, and life accomplishments. The students spent the next six weeks creating portraits using different mediums, which depict everything from hobbies, to character traits that resonated with them. Over the years, the portraits have shown lives full of world travel, music, family, and vibrant personalities.

The finished portraits were hung and displayed throughout the center in January and celebrated with a public reception. The student artists invited their senior volunteers to the reception for a personal unveiling, and to share what they intended to show through their portrait. Following the presentation, students stood with their volunteer by the portrait for photo-ops, and took time to view the other portraits along with the public.

Release by the SRVUSD

Photo courtesy of San Ramon Valley Unified School District of Caitlin Taddei, 12th grade at DVHS along with Yaeko Kennelly and her oil painting of Kennelly titled “Bridge."