Designing “Space”: LGBT Seniors and the Arts

Or, approaching social services from a human centered design perspective. There exists a particularly disturbing dichotomy: today’s LGBT Seniors are in many ways excluded from the very community they created. There is a lack of space on physical, emotional and sociological levels. We engaged LGBT seniors at the Los Angeles LGBT Center in design thinking workshops to explore the concept of “space” and create a program addressing the issue. The result was a program that uses art as a vehicle for creating solutions including a teach-the-teacher format, empowering clients to direct their own future. We’ll present our findings and discuss the importance of making “space” for all.