Written by: Tom Markland and published in The Martinsburg Journal on March 10, 2025, link to the article HERE.
MARTINSBURG – A new art exhibit at the Berkeley Art Council in downtown Martinsburg is working to bridge generations, featuring side-by-side artwork created by local students and seniors.
The new project, taking up much of the back of the council’s gallery on Queen Street, features 25 pieces of art created by a class of second-grade students at Berkeley Heights Elementary, each paired with a piece of artwork created by a senior at Berkeley County Senior Services.
“I reached out to the Berkeley Arts Council and said, I got a great class of second graders, they’re making amazing artwork, is there any way we can collaborate on something?” said Katie Ott, an art teacher at Berkeley Heights Elementary.
The theme that the group landed on was ‘your favorite thing,’ which led to a diverse group of drawings, paired together aesthetically. Some even ended up drawing the same thing, such as one student and one senior who both drew a picture of a bird.
“We were trying to think of what could bridge a gap between the young people and the seniors, and we just decided on something as simple as your favorite thing,” Ott said. “I think it's so interesting to see how our concerns and tastes evolve as we age.”
For Ott’s students, having their art displayed in a public gallery was a first for many, and an exciting one at that.
“It was just a way to bring them out into the world and show them that art can be a whole experience,” Ott said. “It's not 45 minutes once a week, it can be a lot more than that.”
For seniors at Berkeley Senior Services, Executive Director Amy Orndoff says the project was especially exciting as a way for them to get out into the community. To bring the seniors to see their artwork, the organization brought a bus to pick them up and bring them to the gallery.
“It's a lot of the same things with the kids and the seniors, being able to see their artwork,” Orndoff said. “We’re really trying to get the seniors out of the senior center a little more, just so they can see there is more to life and there is more to the world.”
While this is the first time the collaboration between the two groups has been hosted by Berkeley Art Works, both Ott, and Orndoff say they’re hoping to continue it in the future, working to nurture the connection between the two for future projects.
The exhibit will stay up at Berkeley Arts Council, located at 116 North Queen Street, until April 12. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. More information about Berkeley Art Works is available online at berkeleyartswv.org