“CHRONOLOGY OF RUTH’S TABLE”
BY LOLA FRAKNOI WRITTEN IN 2013
THE IDEA
It began as an idea.
In 2010, Jerry Brown, the Executive Director of Bethany Center Senior Housing (the low-income community where I work, providing housing and services to 163 seniors & young-disabled adults) called me into his office with a question.
He said, “It’s sad here. Our community is aging. The common areas are empty. What can you do?
My instant response was, “Art.”
My own insights as a working artist, and past job experiences have shown me that creative people who are open learners – no matter what their ethnicity, education, or social class – all fare better than their cohorts. They were able to be creative in spite of hardships, they continued learning new things all their lives, and they were more at peace being alone.
Now research confirms it:
“The big news is that the brain is far more flexible and adaptable than once thought.” We have learned that the brain can grow new cells even in adulthood – a stunning finding – and that older people use both sides of their brain. In their youth, they predominantly used one side or the other.
As the late Gene Cohen wrote, “Art is like Chocolate to the Brain.”
FOCUS GROUP
But how could I turn my one-word answer into a program? I wanted to fill our downstairs rooms with art and creativity. And I wanted to make the growing numbers of the baby boomer generation, who were not yet ready to be in senior housing, part of my solution.
My first step towards creating such an arts space was to gather together a group of boomers from the community to form a focus group. I wanted to see what they wanted, and they were not shy in telling me. Some of the findings of that focus group are still being implemented today.
VISITING RUTH ASAWA
My second step was to visit my mentor, internationally known artist and Bay Area hero, Ruth Asawa.
I first met Ruth while working at Bethany as a Program Coordinator. Ruth had donated her gorgeous tile mosaic “Growth” to our center. It greets visitors as they enter Bethany’s lobby. And she remained active as one of our community advisors.
I vividly remember Ruth coming to Bethany with offerings from her vegetable garden. She’d bring over these delicious tomatoes and radishes just dripping with fresh dirt, like she’d just pulled them out of the ground, and she’d deliver them to residents and staff.
On my visit, I told her that my dreams of creating my own arts space for the community was coming true, and with much trepidation I asked her if I could use her name in naming the center. Her response was an enthusiastic, “Yes!” -- but she went even further, and surprised me by giving me her famous kitchen table.
You have to understand that Ruth Asawa was known for inviting artists, poets, writers, and politicians to her home, to gather around her table to eat, share ideas, and develop plans to help San Francisco. Throughout her life she was active in causes involving art and education. (The San Francisco High School of the Arts is now named after her.) Dearest to her heart was making art accessible to all the children in San Francisco. And now she was giving me this very table where so many of her ideas and campaigns fermented.
After receiving Ruth’s blessing and a name for our space – Ruth’s Table – came the real work: to fill the space with art of all kinds. To do this, I invited a wide roster of visual artists, musicians, writers, and dancers to teach and perform at Ruth’s Table.
Throughout my career I had developed a rolodex of community leaders, politicians, connections in academia, community non-profits, and individual artists, and I used these connections to get the program going.
COLLABORATIONS
We formed collaborations with community organizations, local universities, and nearby schools – to bring in innovative programs, develop academic recognition, and attract public or media attention for what we were doing.
Some examples include:
1. We gave the Dance Generators, an inter-generational modern dance company based at the University of San Francisco, a home away from home, to teach, perform and start developing new dance pieces.
2. We provided the California College of the Arts with a base for research projects -- such as a “Design for the Elderly” class, where the students’ goal was solving design problems that could improve older adults’ daily lives.
3. Another example was “Memory and Space”, a conceptual art project where residents told stories from their lives that students translated into visual form.
4. The Community Music Center, located 3 doors down, brought parties, choruses, classical and ethnic performances to Ruth’s Table, in exchange for free class and rehearsal space.
GALLERY
One of my favorite inspirations was to convert our largest downstairs space into an art gallery for the community and our residents to enjoy. The Ruth’s Table Gallery is professionally curated, and hosts four contemporary shows a year.
We show art by young artists in the community (non-nostalgia based) The gallery’s opening receptions are filled with the artists, their family and friends, the community for their art, and Ruth’s Table participants
One winning strategy to bring residents to embrace the gallery was planning shows with artists representing their ethnicities -- Russian, Chinese, and Latino, for example. The residents in charge hosted the shows, brought ethnic food, and did not hesitate to ask very direct questions of the artists.
The Gallery is now hosting its 8th exhibit, “Art Teachers’ Art” -- a show that celebrates the art of art teachers in the SF Bay Area.
WORKSHOPS
Most of the workshops we offer do not require a budget -- all the materials are either donated, recycled or repurposed. The modest fees usually go to the workshop leaders.
We transformed the old kitchen at Bethany into an art studio, where Monica Lee, a do-it-yourself crafter, and a team of volunteers have run an artist in residence program.
Participants walk away sporting their own designer bags, paper rose brooches, and fascinator hats. They take home their own stationary, origami bouquets, Day of the Dead altars, or Christmas wreaths.
An artist representing each gallery exhibit also gives a free public workshop that is open to the public.
Our workshops and performances are crossing generational boundaries, as grandparents bring their kids and grandkids, and people are encouraged to bring friends from all generations. Kids as young as six have wanted to attend our workshops
Once at a workshop, a Central American resident told me, “Where I come from all generations work and eat and laugh together around the table. This is back to normal.”
SUMMARY
Three years later what started as an idea to answer my boss is now helping us to redefine who can make art, and who can dance. It’s bringing new people from the community to what used to be empty spaces in our center. It is showing us a new image of what being eighty can looks like, and what it means to live in a senior community.
But perhaps the biggest lesson so far, is that none of us want to be isolated from one another anymore.
Ruth’s Table is given us a space to leave our prejudices at the door and open our eyes to the youthful energy in us all.
Ruth’s Table has become this place where people of all generations come together through art. Just like at Ruth Asawa’s home – our doors are open to everyone, food is shared around the table, and art is seen everywhere. Ruth Asawa continues to serve as our inspiration, and it is for this reason I wish to end by sharing with you a quote from Ruth. Perhaps you’ll find inspirational too.
"Art is for everyone…It is not something that you should have to go to the museums in order to see and enjoy. When I work on big projects, such as a fountain, I like to include people who haven't yet developed their creative side -- people yearning to let their creativity out. I like designing projects that make people feel safe, not afraid to get involved."