This was a showcase exhibition held in Southgate Centre in Edmonton from Mar 01-08 2025, and was a collaboration with Harry Ainlay High School and GEF Seniors Housing. Specifically, they had a number of students from Harry Ainlay High School, a high school here in Edmonton, visit a seniors’ housing community called Pleasantview Place Lodge to meet local seniors and talk with them over several visits to the home, and then write an essay/report about their lives.
The posters and some photos were then collated onto large boards to form something resembling a scrapbook page, and those were then displayed in the center court of Southgate from those dates above.
From what I can see online, there is some documentation about the event itself that was posted, but none about the actual stories themselves. Yet, to me, that’s the most important part of the event, especially in one, five, ten, twenty years, when many of the seniors might be long gone. Those are important to preserve and display, especially since these could be the only chance, if not one of the last chances, for some of those people to, for lack of a better term, leave a mark upon the world. They entrusted their stories and legacies to the young adults that interviewed them, and it’s important to lay down a path to bring those into the future, and not just have them forgotten once the event is over.
In addition, it’s also important to preserve the voices of those young adults — the event is interesting because it’s not the old folks themselves telling their stories, but they’re telling their stories through the lenses and filters of a younger generation, who were then the ones writing up the actual stories. Thus the name of the event, after all. This is also very close to an idea that I’ve mused about wanting to do in the past, but as is my wont, ideas are plentiful and time is scant.
Anyway, I’m not going to type out all the stories, but I did take pictures of all of them so I will post those instead. That being said, the center court area of Southgate Centre is very bright, and the covers they used for the showcases were VERY reflective, so it was not possible to take good photos of some of these exhibits.
The exhibit itself was advertised on the Edmonton Arts Council webpage here (local), and there was also an Instagram picture that I am archiving here:
I will also type out the blurb describing the event. This was posted on its own stand at the event, and acts as a good summary of the event:
Welcome to Bridging Generations, an intergenerational project that celebrates the invaluable contributions of senior citizens in our community. In this unique collaboration, students from Harry Ainlay High School have partnered with local seniors from Pleasantview Place Lodge to honor their life stories and experiences. Through in-depth interviews and thoughtful portraits, each student has worked to capture the essence of a senior’s journey, from personal triumphs to enduring advice for the younger generation. This exhibition not only highlights the wisdom and strength of our elders but also fosters a deeper connection between generations. Each portrait, accompanied by a brief excerpt of the senior’s story, offers a glimpse into their rich history, celebrating the role they play in shaping the community we know today. We invite you to explore these powerful narratives, to reflect on the lives lived, and to recognize the timeless value of human connection.
Good stuff. My historian/chronicler side loves it. Here are the actual pictures from the event itself, from my actual visit on Tuesday, Mar 04 2025.
Firstly, here’s a picture from the outside of the event, as well as the two stands at the entrance of the event, describing what it is and listing the sponsors. The text blurb above is from one of these two showcase stands.
Next, these two are captionless photo collages that were mounted on two of the stands inside the ring of stands at the exhibition.
Lastly, here are the various seniors featured in the project, complete with photos as well as student essays. I captured these in groups of two as that was how they were arranged, with the senior’s portrait on the left and then the student’s essay next to it on the right. Each one was also labelled with the senior’s name, so that’s the heading I will use for each picture.
Ruth G.:
John W.:
Yun K.:
Im-Kyo L.:
Margaret B.:
Sandra P.:
Edelgard R.:
Ruth B.:
Maureen P.:
Delores R.:
Judy M.:
Phyl J.:
Donald W.:
Dale B.:
The quality of the pictures is so bad due to the reflection. Wish Southgate Centre had put more thought into this part of the event. Very cool overall though. I adore these sorts of things.