History of SAI

The Senior Artists Initiative was founded in 1996. The first public activity, in 1998, was a series of panel discussions funded by the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation. These discussions informed artists about organizing their art, and the legal and tax implications of a professional studio. They were held at the Esther Klein Art Gallery, the James A. Michener Art Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and Woodmere Art Museum. Guidelines for Senior Artists, now in its third printing and available online under Publications, was the material result of these talks.

In 1999, SAI developed the Senior Artist Inventory and Oral History Project. In order to assist senior artists, SAI developed a docent and internship program for educational institutions and museums in the greater Philadelphia area. The first sponsors of the Inventory and Oral History Project were The University of the Arts and the Michener Art Museum, a focal point for the arts in Bucks County. This pilot program was so successful that Community Arts Center, Drexel University, Fleisher Art Memorial, Moore College of Art & Design, PAFA, and Temple University Tyler School of Art have participated.

The Senior Artist Inventory and Oral History Project operates on an academic calendar and during the fall the participants are selected by each institution. In the spring the entire group of artists, docents,interns, advisors, videographers, workshop leaders, and SAI staff come

together for the workshop training sessions. Throughout the spring the inventory of art progresses with regular meetings in the studio, while also collecting personal and professional data for the video documentation at the end of the program. The videographies resulting from this program are available for viewing by appointment at the Greenfield Library, University of the Arts, and Woodmere Art Museum.

Student interns and videographers have the unique opportunity to see a lifetime's work, discuss an artist's career, understand how to conduct a professional inventory, gain interviewing and original research skills, and receive a grounding in contemporary American art. They also earn academic credits. The intergenerational aspect places students in the world outside of the classroom and connects the senior artists with those just beginning their careers. Docents have a similar experience, but they also have an opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge of an artist who may be in their institution's collection, which can then be shared with the public in their duties as docents. The Inventory and Oral History Project by its design has outstanding community extension.

Recognition for SAI artists is another part of the project and Woodmere Art Museum has sponsored Biennial Exhibitions in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009.