Updating the Village Life Gallery
Opened in late 2021, the Avenue of the Arts is the crown jewel in the Harmony Ridge apartment complex and Community Center. Along with other new spaces in the same area, the avenue was financed through a successful capital campaign, the Vitality Campaign. From the start, vitality was meant to be more than a mere label for the program. As we wrote at the time, “Vitality is described as highly developed physical or mental vigor. Accordingly, we see our community as a bountiful space for vitality and passion.”
One priority in our design was to showcase our talented villagers through professional photography, capturing them engaged in their hobby or passion. We started displaying such photos, the Village Life gallery, in the hallways at both ends of the avenue, along with an inscription that reads: “These photos show a few of the talented individuals living at Cross Keys Village. We hope this inspires you, no matter what your age is on paper, to continue to learn, develop, and live a life full of vitality!”
The original photos have been on display for over two years, and for the 2024 update to the collection we were able to capture villagers in the new art and wellness spaces that line the avenue (those spaces were still unfinished when we shot the initial batch in 2021). We hired the same gifted photographer, Jeff Berger of JB Photographers, and recruited talented villagers who are known for their readiness to represent our community. The photo shoot included one technically challenging setup, and we will never forget involving CKV electrician Glenn Martin and his cherry picker in order to catch virtuoso baton twirler Kay Loose in action! (See how we did it.)
“We were able to get beautiful photos of those who were willing to sit in front of the camera,” said Mindy Langer, Communications & Gift Officer. “I’m so proud of these images that capture villagers doing what they love.” The new round of photos will be installed by the summer, and the original portraits will be given to the model or their family.
