Location
The Greensboro Nursing Home is a small (28 bed) community based not-for-profit nursing home located in the village of Greensboro, Vermont. Most of the residents come from the nearby area for long-term care. The art making happens in the dining area or adjacent living room - some residents choose to work in their own rooms. Residents’ artwork is always on view throughout the facility.

Numbers
8 to 14 participants; two, 2-hour morning sessions each week.

History
The workshops began in 1978 at the invitation of a Nursing Home volunteer. These were among the first workshops to be initiated after CETA funding ended. The Nursing Home specifically appealed to the local community for donations to pay for the cost of the workshops.

“Original Grace - 5 Artists from the Northeast Kingdom” was the first organized touring exhibit. Three of the five artists were residents of the Greensboro Nursing Home- Dorothy Bupp, Curtis Tatro and Mabel Graham. Roland Rochette, a frequent visitor to the Nursing Home and Glen Buck who lived just down the road, were the other two artists included in the exhibit. The title “Original Grace” provided the root word for the acronym GRACE (Grass Roots Art and Community Effort).

The first series of workshops ended in 1984 after changes in the Nursing Home administration and in budget priorities. In 1990 workshops started up again at the request of David Yacovone, the newly appointed administrator. David went on to serve as the Director of Vermont’s Department of Aging and Disabilities. The two weekly workshops are seventy-five percent underwritten by the Nursing Home, with the remainder funded through grants and contributions to GRACE.

“I believe strongly in ‘empowerment’. I also believe that the elder population that need to be reached has, due to years of denied opportunity to exercise real control over their lives, need to rebuild the confidence necessary to empower themselves. In a sense, the ability for self empowerment is dormant within, and needs to be reawakened. This is where GRACE can excel. Through art programs (which provide real opportunities for making choices) elders can build their self esteem and become assertive.”

- David Yacovone, former Administrator, Greensboro Nursing Home

art & artists  |  art workshops  |  art store  |  about grace  |  support  |  home

P.O. Box 960 • Hardwick, Vermont • 05843
802.472.6857 | contact@graceart.org

© 1999-2002 GRACE
site credits