Arts and Entertainment

'FaceAge' exhibit opens on Sept. 30 in the HUB-Robeson Galleries

"FaceAge" is an immersive three-screen visual and audio installation which functions as the centerpiece of the FaceAge exhibit. A reception celebrating the exhibit will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30, in the Art Alley of the HUB-Robeson Galleries on Penn State's University Park campus.   Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

A reception celebrating the exhibit "FaceAge" will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, in the Art Alley of the HUB-Robeson Galleries on the University Park campus of Penn State.

An immersive three-screen visual and audio installation functions as the centerpiece of the "FaceAge" exhibit. Cross generational encounters are conveyed across six sensory-rich sections, each designed to shift the observer’s embodied experience of aging. Viewers may enter the 55 minute film loop at any point for any amount of time – each encounter will provide its own experience. This project provides a much needed space within a culture where generations tend to be dispersed physically.

Led by the power of the arts to engage communities and ideas, the FaceAge collaboration is an innovative template for cross-disciplinary research and intergenerational community engagement.

As a model for transdisciplinary arts research, "FaceAge" offers a timely case study for examining and exploring innovative ways in which third-space collaborations — particularly in Arts and Health — can be extended into the sphere of public engagement, with measurable outcomes and impacts. The "FaceAge" creators aim for a deeper understanding of the lived experience for individuals across generations and how the arts can impact people’s perceptions of aging. They are also interested in extending FaceAge as an embodied, experiential template for engaging the public in other important medical concerns such as end-of-life issues, child abuse, nutrition, and active lifestyles.

"FaceAge" community engagement efforts begin with the personal experience encountering the installation, witnessing intergenerational interactions on the screen, and listening to powerful stories revealed by filmed "FaceAge" individuals. Following their experience of the installation, visitors are invited to create their own "FaceAge" experience by participating in an intergenerational Story Circle.

Following this Penn State residency at the HUB-Robeson Center, "FaceAge" will be touring to museums, arts and film festivals, universities, and health care centers throughout the US and internationally.

"FaceAge" core partners include: Arts & Design Research Incubator, Penn State College of Arts & Architecture, Center for Healthy Aging, Penn State College of Health and Human Development, Penn State College of Nursing, and the Department of Film Studies, University of North Carolina – Wilmington.

"FaceAge" will be on display in Art Alley through Dec. 11. For more information on the installation, visit faceage.org
 

Last Updated September 27, 2016