The 50 Year Reunion

By 2035, the aging population will be larger than that of people 18 and younger. More than ever, art museums must consider how to best serve this audience. Research on the development of aging adults highlights that creative aging programming provides a beneficial impact on the lives of older adults while helping to combat ageism and redefine how older adults are seen in cultural institutions. This chapter reviews the similarities and differences between the programming for adults 55 and older at the Tucson Museum of Art, a mid-size regional institution, and The John Michael Kohler Arts Center, a rural, contemporary arts center. Through an analysis of the two institutions' programs for older adults, the authors discuss how older adults can fulfill the roles of visitor, participant, and learner when presented with equitable and intentional opportunities.

It’s Late, But Everything Comes Next: Creative Aging in the Modern United States

The emergence of “creative aging” programs, or fine arts programs exclusively for older adults, invites analysis of these new institutions and their influence on the social elements of the aging process. While past studies have demonstrated the cognitive and health-related benefits of arts participation in old age, little research has examined how participation might influence the older person’s self-esteem or perceptions of aging. The present study draws on ethnographic methods including participant observation at eight creative aging programs, six semi-structured in-depth interviews with teaching artists leading these programs, and content analysis of paintings and vignettes made by participants. The results show the observed creative aging programs to have a unique, cyclical pattern of discourse characterized alternately by older adults’ recurring self-deprecation and the affirming responses of instructors. This pattern of interaction renders such programs sites for the contestation of negative popular discourses around aging.

Why Creativity Matters to Aging and Health

As GSA turns 75, it is an appropriate time to review the history of the creative aging movement. This symposium explores the research, policy and practice of creative aging - past and present, starting in the 1970’s through the efforts of pioneering leaders in the aging, humanities and arts in conjunction with growing support from the newly established National Endowment for the Arts and related aging and health service systems. The foundational research by Gene Cohen, MD PHD and others at the turn of the 21st Century will be described in terms of its building the science to utilize the humanities and arts to scaffold policy and practices that promote the potential of aging through creative expression rather than the pervasive view of aging as a time of loss. Moving towards strength-based approaches to further the development of overall health including brain reserve, physical fitness and social networks, creative aging collaborations will be highlighted as the future of this initiative. Case studies of joint research projects between state departments of both aging and arts in partnership with Universities will demonstration contemporary practices to address major aging issues around isolation, loneliness and caring for the care giver.

Creative Aging Collaborations: New Directions in Solving Critical Societal Aging and Health Problems

From the grassroots development of creative aging research to broad base community collaborations that address the issues of today and tomorrow, this presentation will illustrate how state departments of aging and state arts agencies can combine to partnership with research universities to demonstrate the efficacy of the arts to mediate problems of loneliness, isolation and caregiver stress. This case study will show how resources can be expanded and effective practices established through community based research to find ways to build healthy and engaging communities that serve to break down the barriers of isolation and promote social networks.

NETWORKING MUSEUMS, OLDER PEOPLE, AND COMMUNITIES: UNCOVERING AND SUSTAINING STRENGTHS IN AGING

Museums, like other cultural institutions, are beginning to embrace a new role: facilitating creativity of older adults through education programs. A cohort of 20 American museums from Alaska to Puerto Rico are embarking on an ambitious two-year program, funded by Aroha Philanthropies, to develop successful creative aging programs in their communities. The cohort includes art museums, history centers, botanical gardens and a science museum. The group has received extensive training and technical assistance to build their capacity and awareness of needs and desires of older adults. The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), a partner in this initiative, is leading a deep dive into the potential of museums to enable older adults to learn, make and share the arts. With Aroha’s support, AAM has created a two-year position, the Aroha Senior Fellowship in Museums and Creative Aging to lead an exploration of how museums can deepen their engagement with creative aging.