As an alternative to traditional options, some Los Angeles-based retirees are finding their fit in a senior artists’ colony, reports USA Today.
Citing the experience of one aging couple who was not interested in the “old fashioned traditional senior citizens living,” USA Today details the Burbank Senior Artists Colony, developed by LA-based Meta Housing, as a place of Zumba classes, on-site theater, acting classes, filmmaking and more.
The Burbank community is one of three communities currently working under the same concept, USA Today reports, with more communities planned under the initiative of Meta Housing and its president, John Huskey, as well as Tim Carpenter, founder and executive director of EngAge, a non-profit that provides the activities and services within the communities.
The team says future plans could include development in Minneapolis/St. Paul, San Francisco, Portland or St. Louis.
“The classes are a huge success,” USA Today Reports, citing data from Huskey on participation rates that average four to five times those in “normal” senior housing.
“We hire college-level professionals to teach classes,” Carpenter told USA Today. “We have classes that operate on semester bases. Class or workshops will last 6 weeks to 3 months. ” “We teach every art under the sun — fine arts, painting, drawing sculpture, performing arts, poetry and drama, writing, literature.”
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
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