Village of Light
Have you ever walked down a street of a quiet neighborhood on a still winter’s evening and gazed into brightly lit homes wondering “Who lives inside these homes, and if I knocked on a door and was welcomed inside, what treasures, stories and mysteries might be revealed?”
The communal display of beautiful illuminated homes in a Village of Light tableau is like one of these magical neighborhoods, each beautiful illuminated house a treasure chest containing delightful gems - the dreams and stories of its maker.
About Village of Light
As one of our newest and most creative initiatives, we are truly excited about the transformative potential of Village of Light.
We begin with a workshop process where seniors create uniquely beautiful illuminated paper houses. These houses then serve as gateway tools for sharing stories of life, home and values. The illuminated houses become part of an interactive, magical, ever-evolving, multi-sensory community display that facilitates communal engagement and identity while informing, entertaining, inspiring and honoring the various members of the senior community.
Light. Home. Village. These are all potent cultural “signifiers” with deep symbolic meanings evoking powerful emotions. Village of Light harnesses the potent power of these signifiers to create something that’s beautiful and impactful.
Village of Light was inspired by our popular Legacy Lights initiative, but unlike the lamps of Legacy Lights, which are “private” in the sense that participants take their lamps home with them, the illuminated houses of Village of Light go into a communal display that magically reveals the stories, histories, wisdom and values of each house’s maker
Why?
There are well known challenges for seniors in even the best-designed and most welcoming senior communities: isolation, depression, anxiety, and grief. Senior residents have been uprooted from their long-time homes and communities. Constructing a “home” can be a metaphor for constructing a new life. Integrating that home into a communal display can be a metaphor for integrating oneself into a new community. “Feeling at home” is not just a metaphor, it’s a key factor in determining well-being for seniors in senior communities. Village of Light can play an important role in that process.
Vision
Village of Light not only reflects Harvey Chochinov’s theories of Dignity Therapy and the value of Generativity and Summation work for seniors, but it augments that with communal art, craft, storytelling and meaning-making. There’s a deep, engaging workshop process that leads to a concrete end-product (a beautiful illuminated house AND stories) that then is incorporated into a magical communal display that supports storytelling, communal gathering and connections, evocative memories, imagination, playfulness, living history, art/craft, magic and delight. Village of Light fosters community identity and engagement while honoring the residents of the host facility. Each illuminated house reflects its creator’s special light while the illuminated village reflects the warm light of its host community.
Testimonials
“Absolutely stunning! The meaningful workshop process which honored us all…the beautiful illuminated houses which were so fun to make…and now the incredible display with its stories. I’m moved beyond words.”
“I’ve come to expect amazing things from The Illumignossi Project. But this? It’s just way, way, way beyond anything I could have imagined!”
