LEBANON — When Theia Smith heard the Dartmouth Health Aging Resource Center was looking for people to pair up with Dartmouth College students for a photography project, she was intrigued.
Smith, a Concord resident, liked the project’s premise: Being interviewed by a Dartmouth photography student about her life and then being photographed in the campus studio with an object that is important to her.
“It was really a great, great thing,” Smith said during the “Portraits of Joy” reception at the Aging Resource Center in Lebanon Tuesday afternoon.
The exhibition — which features photos of nine older adults taken by five student photographers — will be on display at the through Monday, Sept. 14 at the Aging Resource Center, located at Colburn Hill, Entrance E, at 444 Mount Support Road in Lebanon.
Jason Page, a program specialist at the Geriatric Center of Excellence at Dartmouth Health, came up with the idea. He was looking for opportunities for older adults to connect with people from different generations, including college students. Page connected with Dawit Petros, a department of studio art professor who specializes in photography.
The project ended up being a great fit, said Dillon Roberts, a photography and digital imaging technical specialist at Dartmouth College who worked with the students on “Portraits of Joy.”
“I find these days students have a fear of leaving their circle and approaching someone they don’t know,” Roberts said during the reception. This project, in a sense, forced them to do so.
Roberts, Page and the participants who attended the reception lauded the connections that the older adults formed with students during the months they spent together.
During “Portraits of Joy,” participants spent hours together, from interviews to the photography process itself.
“It really had a ripple effect,” Page said in an interview at the reception. “They created relationships.”
Smith was paired with Asya Ulger and the two connected instantly.
“We just got along so well,” Smith, 61, said. “She had all kinds of creative ideas.”
Smith was photographed wearing a set of pearls her mother gave her.
“I was floored that she would consider giving her pearls,” Smith said. “It was such a meaningful experience for me that I thought of it first” when asked to think about objects that brought her joy.
Smith, who loves to sew, also wore clothes she made herself. Ulger helped her pick out which outfit to wear.
“It brought back memories of when I was in school,” Smith said about spending time with Ulger. “I was just happy to meet somebody new.”
Jodi Austin, of Hanover, was as well. She recalled how student Dillon Cain braved a cold day to visit her residence in downtown Hanover, where they spent a couple of hours talking about their families, along with other topics.
“He was so sweet, so kind,” Austin said during the reception.
Austin chose to be photographed wearing her bright red coat.
“When I wear that jacket, it’s the first thing people notice,” said Austin, 85, who has a cardiac illness. “I want the conversation to start off on a lighter note.”
The Aging Resource Center and Department of Studio Art are exploring other opportunities for older adults and students to work on projects together.
“Hopefully this will continue,” Roberts said.
