West Chester’s Art of Caring Showcases Artists, Benefits Retirement Home
art, art of caring, culture, heritage, quaker congregation,
More than a century ago‚ members of the West Chester Monthly Meeting‚ concerned about an aging member of their Quaker congregation who had no family‚ established a home for older women at the corner of Walnut and Marshall. In 1936‚ it was named after Nathaniel Hickman‚ who endowed a new building to accommodate men and married couples as well.
Although its two current buildings share a campus with the West Chester Friends Meeting and West Chester Friends School‚ The Hickman’s scope has expanded: A majority of its 70 or so residents are non-Quaker‚ and its directors hope to serve even more with the conversion of the former hospital next door.
“Since we serve people of low and middle income‚ we didn’t want any of the residents to have to fund our expansion‚” says Krystine Sipple‚ a member of The Hickman’s development staff. Fundraising‚ however‚ meant raising the profile of an institution that had spent 114 years serving “very quietly.”
“We know Chester County likes to play‚” Sipple says. “We talked to members of Quaker meetings … about what kind of event they’d like to come to.” The result was a now-annual sale that each time features a different kind of furniture‚ with multiple pieces highlighting the work of a variety of local artists.
Incorporating the semiannual Gallery Walk art tour and other display venues before culminating in an October auction‚ the event was christened Art of Caring.
“What we do at The Hickman is all about caring‚ and art – the creative spirit – is something Quakers have long prized‚” Sipple says.
The arts community responded enthusiastically‚ with ten artists of both regional and international renown producing one-of-a-kind Adirondack chairs for the first Art of Caring offering in 2004.
Antonio Puri‚ an area painter who grew up in the Himalayas‚ was one of 14 artists who painted “treasured chests” for the 2005 campaign.
“I thought this was a wonderful opportunity to expand the arts in West Chester‚” he says. “There is a strong painting tradition in this area‚ and I thought this was a chance to merge cultures.” The “Oneness” theme of his treasured chest combined western abstract impressionism with the traditional Tibetan mandala form – an imaginary palace in Buddhist meditation whose varied objects represent different facets of wisdom.
“I used my box to get people to ‘think outside of the box‚’” Puri says.
Continuing in 2006 with tilt-top tea tables‚ Art of Caring has raised about $80‚000. Its more important role has been to raise The Hickman’s visibility in the public eye.
“Most people didn’t know what we do here‚” Sipple says. “It has been amazing in raising awareness of The Hickman.”
Story by Errol Castens
Photo by Stephen Cherry
