Creating with Purpose.
Our Mission
Our mission is to support cognitive engagement and social well-being among older adults through collaborative art while building meaningful relationships between generations.
By partnering high school chapters with senior-living communities, H.ART transforms painting into an opportunity for creative expression, active thinking, conversation, and connection.
About H.Art Initiative
Building Connection Through Creativity
The Research
Creative engagement can support healthy aging.
Creative expression does more than produce a finished piece of art. The process asks us to observe, make choices, coordinate movement, solve problems, and respond to new information. Growing research suggests that continued participation in creative activities may support cognitive function and well-being as we age. Let's dive into some of these studies!
Researchers at University College London, analyzing data from 4,344 older adults over seven years, found that participation in creative activities such as painting, crafts, and making music was associated with better later performance in executive function and language. The study specifically examined skills related to working memory, reasoning, verbal fluency, and other areas of cognition.¹
A broader systematic review published in Frontiers in Psychology examined 10 studies involving 7,874 participants. Researchers found that active and receptive engagement with the arts was associated with reduced cognitive decline as well as improvements in well-being and quality of life, while noting that more research is needed to understand the long-term effects.²
More recently, researchers affiliated with the Global Brain Health Institute examined brain data from more than 1,400 people across 13 countries. They found that people with greater experience in creative activities showed younger estimated “brain ages” and more efficient communication across brain networks. The regions most associated with these differences were linked to functions including attention and imagination.³
Research into visual art-based interventions offers additional support. A 2025 review in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports examined 26 studies of healthy older adults and individuals experiencing cognitive impairment or dementia; 18 of the 26 studies reported improvement in at least one measure of cognitive function.⁴ The authors also cautioned that study sizes and methods vary, meaning the findings should not be overgeneralized.
This research helped shape H.ART around active creation, giving older adults opportunities to remain mentally engaged, make choices, express themselves, and connect with others through art.
1. Bone, J. K., Fancourt, D., Sonke, J. K., & Bu, F. (2023). Participatory and Receptive Arts Engagement in Older Adults: Associations with Cognition Over a Seven-Year Period. Creativity Research Journal.
2. Fioranelli, M., Roccia, M. G., & Garo, M. L. (2023). The role of arts engagement in reducing cognitive decline and improving quality of life in healthy older people: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1232357
3.Coronel, C., Ibáñez, A., et al. (2025). Creative experiences and brain clocks. Nature Communications.
4. Zhao, Y., Li, T., Wang, H., & Li, C. (2025). Visual art therapy for cognitive and emotional enhancement in aging and dementia: A structured narrative review. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports.
Engage.
Art-making calls on attention, decision-making, visual processing, problem-solving, and coordination
Express.
Art creates space for individuality, choice, and self-expression without a single “right” outcome.
Connect.
Creating alongside others provides a shared experience that promotes conversation, collaboration, and connection.
Partner Speed Painting
Our Signature Program
At each H.ART session, one high school student is paired with one older adult, each beginning on their own canvas. After a few minutes, they swap and continue building on what the other has created.
With every exchange, participants must observe, adapt, and decide what comes next, encouraging flexible thinking, decision-making, and creative problem-solving. At the same time, the shared activity gives conversation a natural place to begin and continue.
The back-and-forth format also helps relieve the pressure to create a “perfect” painting. Instead, the focus shifts from perfection to connection, and both canvases become shared creations shaped by two different perspectives.
From an Idea to Starting H.Art
Meet the Founder
H.ART was founded by Leena Abuoqab, a student at Canterbury School in Fort Myers, Florida, with the goal of creating a space where older adults could stay creatively and cognitively engaged while forming meaningful relationships with a younger generation.
As a student with a strong interest in science and neurology, while also having a deeply creative and artistic side, Leena was drawn to the intersection between the brain and the arts. She became especially interested in how creative activity could support cognitive engagement while also making self-expression and conversation feel more natural. H.ART grew from that intersection, combining research-backed ideas about healthy aging with a hands-on, collaborative experience built around connection.
Creativity that helps H.ART grow
Painted by Leena
As H.ART began to expand, Leena wanted to find a creative and sustainable way to help cover the cost of painting supplies and support new chapters as they got started. That led to Painted by Leena, where she creates custom hand-painted banners for birthdays, school events, celebrations, and other special occasions.
Revenue from these commissions helps fund H.ART materials and provide startup support for developing chapters. Painted by Leena allows one creative project to support another, helping make it possible for more students and older adults to take part in H.ART experiences while continuing to grow the initiative’s reach.
