BFS Art Students Partner With Watermark Residents

Brooklyn Friends School was delighted in December to launch a meaningful collaboration with The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights, a vibrant senior living community. This intergenerational initiative, Making Friends: Forging Intergenerational Connections through Art-Making, brings together BFS art students and Watermark residents for a series of shared creative experiences over several months. Through regular visits, students and residents engaged in thoughtful conversations, exchanged  stories, and created artwork side by side. These sessions were designed not only to nurture artistic expression, but also to cultivate empathy, understanding, and authentic human connection across generations.

As participants explored different materials and themes together, they discovered common ground, celebrated differences, and built lasting relationships.The collaboration will culminate in a shared art exhibition in May, showcasing the artwork created throughout the program. The exhibition will honor the creative process and highlight the meaningful bonds formed between our two communities— demonstrating the power of art to connect, inspire, and foster friendship at every stage of life. Queries that have guided BFS students and colleagues throughout the initiative:

• How does art-making allow people to communicate in ways beyond words? 
• How can knowledge and experience be shared in various ways (conversation, art-making and writing, Quaker Meeting For Worship, working together, the visual conversation created through curation/exhibition design, etc)?

Much more to come in the coming weeks about this exciting initiative.