Our Origins
Legacy Art Work and History Alive are two art projects created by Susan Perlstein, the founder of Elders Share the Arts (ESTA) in New York, and introduced to Taiwan in 2005. Ever since holding their first event at the Rong Xiang Senior Care Center, the Legacy Art Work group has remained dedicated to creative aging programs for seniors, in both word and deed.
Core Values
The Legacy Art Work program lets senior citizens create and use visual art to record life as they experience it: past, present, and future. Professional instructors guide group activities and seniors work with volunteers, using the creative arts to preserve the bounty of their memories. Working closely in small groups allows the elderly to interact more and strengthen ties with family. At the same time they can use art to express a lifetime of emotions and memories. In 2010 the New and Alive Art Service Company was established to promote Legacy Art Work and its ideas, providing those in their golden years with an even greater quality of life. Moreover, in 2018 the group was recognized in Singapore as one of the top 100 social enterprises in Asia.
Professional Programs and Cultivation of Talent
Since Legacy Art Work launched in Taiwan in 2005, it has continued to offer a diverse array of activities to encourage seniors to reconnect with society, including therapeutic group art, individually customized courses, and professional guidance services. At the same time, the program offers leadership training courses which consist of theory, practical internships, international certification, and personal oversight and guidance, helping individuals to become leaders in their own right. Course participants include social workers, occupational therapists, university professors, and students from a variety of backgrounds. In 2011 the group began inviting the public to get involved in senior citizen's affairs, regularly holding volunteer recruiting sessions, training seminars, and advanced arts and crafts courses. To date more than 2,600 volunteers have been recruited, and the program continues to improve and enrich the lives of seniors.
