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Jo Schott with A2A members and fellow volunteers on Millennium Bridge |
Access to art is not just for the young
RETIREMENT needn’t mean the end of a productive life, just as learning can continue well into old age.
Since she became a member of Access2Art (A2A) five years ago Stella Grosvenor, 90, who lives in Flask Walk, Hampstead, has been visiting exhibitions at least once a month.
Today (Thursday) she is visiting the British Museum to see the Terracotta Army, soldier sculptures from the tomb of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty in China.
Formed 16 years ago, the charity, which operates in Camden and nine other London boroughs, has made it possible for hundreds of people in need of a helping hand, to experience London’s museums and galleries.
Student of English literature at King’s College London, Jo Schott, 21, volunteers with the charity and relishes her monthly excursions.
On one occasion Ms Schott escorted an elderly A2A member – who first saw van Gogh’s work with her sister when she was a teenager – to the Impressionists permanent collection at the National Gallery.
Ms Schott said: “That sort of nostalgic experience with art is so personal and so integral to individual enjoyment of artworks. Being able to give that A2A member the opportunity of that experience epitomises what the charity enables an elderly, housebound person to do.”
Mrs Grosvenor contracted polio in infancy but it was not until she was in her fifties that the illness rendered her unable to walk.
She said: “My mind is perfectly fine but my walking has deteriorated so much I can’t go to exhibitions like I used to.”
“So many old people are so stuck at home just sitting around in chairs doing nothing. It’s vital that we have this mental stimulation,” said Ms Grosvenor.
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