Olympia accepts 'Arc of Aging' mural for senior center

At Tuesday's meeting, the Olympia City Counvil approved an ordinance accepting Senior Services for South Sound's art donation - the “Arc of Aging” mural, which is “designed to honor seniors and the aging process.”

Olympia Arts Commission chairman Jim Burlingame spoke about the art donation at the city council meeting and highlighted that Senior Services is celebrating its 50th anniversary and has proposed gifting Olympia with the recreation of the "Arc of Aging" mural at the Olympia Center.

Chelsea Baker created the mural's design. The design was previously used in a mural at 510 Columbia Street SW that was covered up with siding in 2022.

Burlingame said the proposed location for the mural is in the Olympia Center's hallway, where seniors gather for lunch.

In the previous Arts Commission meeting, Anna Schlecht, a member of the Board of Senior Services for South Sound, described the proposed mural to be painted with a literal arc in the form of a rainbow with silhouettes spanning between both ends – starting with a crawling baby on the right side leading to an elderly person in a wheelchair.

Burlingame shared with city councilmembers that a survey of 55 seniors, including eight staff members, showed that 98% approved the design.

According to Schlecht, the same original team, Chelsea Baker, and local architect Regine Varghins, would be involved in recreating the mural. They hope to tap seniors' participation in art classes to contribute to the project.