Marina Capdevila heads to The Princess Martha in January to film an episode of her docuseries Viejas Glorias. The program weaves authentic interviews and artistic explorations about the pervasive attitudes regarding women and aging.
Marina Capdevila aims to express one idea throughout her artwork: that aging—particularly in women—is beautiful.
In 2022, Capdevila visited St. Pete as a selected muralist for the SHINE Mural Festival. Instead of caving into societal standards preaching anti-aging, she celebrates the natural process, drawing from a close bond with her grandmother and mother.
Her first mural installation in the city depicts a trio of women sunbathing and relaxing on the beach. Wrinkles pull on their tanned skin, illuminating their refusal to think of getting older as a negative construct. One woman speaks on a lobster telephone, imbuing the lighthearted comedic element woven through Capdevila’s artistry and as a sly wink to Salvador Dali.
Capdevila returned in May for another mural installation, this time at the Dali Museum. In a similar spirit, her mural features another trifecta of older ladies. The centerpiece shows off a seasoned woman smoking a cigarette framed by two others treating themselves to alcoholic beverages. Again, their wrinkles are clearly rendered in the mural, underscoring the work’s strong, unvarnished realism.
Jenee Priebe, former director of the SHINE Mural Festival who now operates her own project management company No Good Deeds Art, recalls speaking with Capdevila in 2022 about a potential idea serving to challenge public perception about aging women. The series is planned to debut once the fundraising goal has been met, as a five-part docuseries entitled Viejas Glorias or Glorious Old Women.
Jenee Priebe of No Good Deeds Art
"One of her goals is to highlight and shift the way we think about aging and to really see it as a privilege to grow old, rather than…a kind of burden,” Priebe shares. “What I like about her characters and the way that she typically portrays women is living life to the fullest—immersed in leisurely roles or humorous situations, eating, drinking, smoking, enjoying life.”
St. Pete is the only stop in the United States and joins Ghana, China, Peru and Spain as a focal point for the series. For our city’s segment, Capdevila will focus on the retirement community at the historic Princess Martha, capturing firsthand accounts of what it means to age as a woman in our area. The episode will intersperse conversations with the highlighted women and footage of Capdevila creating a pro-aging mural at the community’s pool deck.
No Good Deeds has shepherded the project here in St. Pete. After scouring for the ideal fiscal sponsor, Priebe landed on the Museum of Motherhood, an organization created by Joy Rose that creates thought-provoking exhibits and provides education about women, mothers and families that inform and inspire.
Exhibit at the Museum of Motherhood
Priebe pitched the idea to Barbara Lynch, a board member for the Museum of Motherhood and a former volunteer with the SHINE Mural Festival, who was ecstatic about the possibility of collaborating on the project.
"I'm hoping people become more accepting because there is this perception that people have to age a certain way…gracefully,” Lynch offers. “You're not supposed to wrinkle, you're not supposed to do this, that, or the other. I'm hoping it shows that women can always be fun and light. It doesn’t matter their age—they’re still their beautiful souls.”
Tour at the Museum of Motherhood
The campaign hopes to raise $30,000 by December 1st. The Museum of Motherhood has organized a donation link through the Givebutter fundraising platform, offering several tax-deductible sponsorship tiers. Once the donations reach their goal, Viejas Glorias can move forward.
Visit Viejas Glorias at Givebutter to contribute and mommuseum.org for more information on the project. To learn more about Marina Capdevila, visit marinacapdevila.com and Priebe’s nogooddeedsart.com to explore the work of this innovative public art consulting and management company.
