Paradigm Shift: Advancing the Cultural Rights of Older People

A Free, Virtual Convening on June 6 and 7, 2023

The 3rd annual International Creative Aging Summit channeled the collective energy of more than 250 arts and aging leaders from around the globe towards an investigation of the profound shifts needed — individually and collectively — to champion and adequately invest in older adults’ creativity and cultural agency.

Through facilitated conversations and peer-to-peer exchange, this dynamic and collegial convening connected a worldwide network of colleagues working in diverse communities and sectors to advance creative aging. The Summit is designed for those who develop, deliver, and/or support arts programs by, with, and for older people including professionals from the social and aging services, and the technology, education, cultural, heritage, housing, and health sectors. 

Hosted by a different country each year, the 2023 Summit was organized by Lifetime Arts (United States) in collaboration with Creative Ageing Development Agency (CADA) in England and Armas-festival, City of Helsinki, and Koy Kaapelitalo in Finland. 

POST-SUMMIT VIDEO PLAYLIST + RESOURCE GUIDE

SESSION SCHEDULE + FULL AGENDA

You can download our full Summit agenda (PDF) with speaker bios and session highlights below.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Ashton Applewhite

Ageism Activist and Author ⁠— United States

As the author of the book, “This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism“ and a TED mainstage speaker, Ashton is a leading voice of the emerging anti-ageism movement and is helping to catalyze a grassroots movement to raise awareness of ageist stereotypes and dismantle them. Warm, funny, and straight-talking, Ashton describes her journey from apprehensive fifty-something to pro-aging radical, debunking myths and stereotypes along the way. Ashton calls aging, “a powerful, fascinating, lifelong process that unites us all,” and guarantees that after listening to her, you’ll feel a whole lot better about the years ahead. Ashton has also led the team that developed Old School, a clearinghouse of anti-ageism resources, and writes for the blog, “Yo, Is This Ageist?,” and speaks widely at venues that have ranged from universities and community centers to the Library of Congress and the United Nations.

Kunle Adewale

Founder & Executive Director, Arts in Medicine Projects — United Kingdom

As a renowned Nigerian international artist, Kunle facilitates intergenerational artistic programs for older adults living with dementia in Nigeria, the U.S., the U.K., and other parts of Europe through the use of arts and immersive creative technologies. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Arts in Medicine Projects and the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship; a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI); and a Curator and Global Development Lead for the Global South Arts & Health Week. In 2022, Kunle was endorsed by the Arts Council England as a Global Talent Exceptional Leader. He is a member of the Steering Committee of WHO-Jameel Arts and Health Lab and WHO-Arts and Wellbeing Cohort, developing resources on arts practice and the ethics of care. In 2019, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley declared every August 2nd as Kunle Adewale Day for the city to honor his contribution to the field of arts and medicine.

PANELISTS + FACILITATORS

SESSION HIGHLIGHTS

Still Kicking: Confronting Ageism and Ableism in the Pandemic’s Wake

OPENING KEYNOTE BY ASHTON APPLEWHITE — TUESDAY, JUNE 6

The early messaging around the pandemic advised people not to worry — the virus will “only” infect the old and the ill. Not only was that message completely wrong, it was also dangerous and irresponsible. “That is the lethal, global impact of ageism and ableism,” says activist Ashton Applewhite. “Two forms of prejudice we talk about too little and too late — for which the entire world is now paying dearly.”

In this eye-opening talk, Applewhite uses the lessons of the pandemic to illuminate a vital truth: Age and disability are not the problem. The problem is the discrimination that changes the way we see those things — filling us with fear and dread. Ageism and ableism segregates us, pits us against one another, creates barriers to employment, harms our health, and shortens our lives. “Systemic discrimination is a formidable obstacle. But it is real, which makes it easier to tackle than something nonexistent: the imaginary failings which these systems created and need us to believe in,” explains Applewhite. Her talk brilliantly explores how ageism and ableism intersect with other factors — race, gender, culture, ethnicity — and challenges our biases about what it means to grow older. If we ignore how these issues overlap, any efforts to keep us healthy as we age, or keep us employed, connected, entertained or in community, will benefit only the privileged.

Creative Aging as a Global Catalyst for Change

PANEL & SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION ⁠— TUESDAY, JUNE 6

Creative aging practices around the globe are changing culture, making communities more age-friendly, and keeping older adults engaged and thriving. In this session, you’ll learn how diverse approaches to arts and aging are advancing the cultural rights of older people in Finland, the United States, and Australia.  Case stories include:

• Finland: New models of creative engagement in Helsinki are changing how people are thinking about aging. Tommi Laitio shares how this is happening through practical partnerships, governance, and innovative programming.
  
• United States: State-level, cross-sector partnerships are helping to leverage new investments to advance and scale creative aging programs within public libraries, veteran services, and other diverse areas. Susan Oetgen and Sheila Dean Ross share how state and jurisdictional arts agencies are leading this national effort.
  
• Australia: A network of 90 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled arts centers in Australia embed the cultural determinants of health in their model of care. Paulene Mackell shares how these centers are supporting the roles of Elders within their communities and working to secure government support and partnerships with aged care providers to maximize these centers’ impact.

SPEAKERS:

• Tommi Laitio, Public Innovation Fellow, Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins – Finland
• Susan Oetgen, Arts Learning Projects Director at the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies – United States
• Sheila Dean Ross, Program Officer of Arts Education and Accessibility at Delaware Division of the Arts – United States
• Paulene Mackell, Senior Lecturer-Social Work and Coordinator Master of Social Work at Charles Darwin University; Honorary Research Fellow at National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) – Australia
• Moderator: Heather Ikemire, Deputy Director, Lifetime Arts – United States

Creative Aging at the Intersections: Health, Technology & Library Services

PANEL & SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION — WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7

Cross-sector collaboration is essential to advancing the cultural rights of older people by helping to transform attitudes, infrastructure, and the coordination of programs and services for an aging population. In this session, panelists from the United States and the United Kingdom will discuss the intersections of creative aging with the health, technology, and library services sectors. Together they will share concrete examples of how aligning creative aging practices within their sectors is helping to increase engagement, advance equity, support advocacy, leverage new investments, and scale promising practices to improve the lives of older adults. After a dynamic panel discussion, participants will go into breakout rooms of their choice for a focused conversation with one of the panelists.

SPEAKERS:

• Tom Kamber, Founder & Executive Director, Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) and Senior Planet (Affiliates of AARP) – United States
• Julie McCarthy, Strategic Lead for Creative Health, Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership – England
• Veronda Pitchford, Assistant Director, Califa Group – United States
• Moderator: Farrell Renowden, Director, Creative Ageing Development Agency and Head of Cultural Partnerships/ Age of Creativity Director, Age UK Oxfordshire – United Kingdom
• Breakout discussion facilitators: Helen Manchester; Professor of Participatory Sociodigital Futures, School of Education, University of Bristol – United Kingdom; Maura O’Malley; Co-Founder and CEO, Lifetime Arts – United States; and Sudha Shreeniwas. Professor, Dept. of Human Development and Family Studies, UNC Greensboro – United States

Cultural Agency: Co-Designing Creative Practice with Older Persons

CLOSING KEYNOTE BY KUNLE ADEWALE — WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7

Agency is a fundamental component of creative practice for older persons, promoting authenticity and inclusivity both in program design and systems change. For older adults, creative expression is a deeply personal and often emotional process, and individuals need to feel that they have control over their work to engage with it fully. Agency enables older adults to make decisions about what to create, how to create it, how it is shared with others, and for what purpose. To this end, creative practitioners and their partners across sectors who are designing artistic interventions to improve older people’s health, social connections, and overall well-being must involve older persons as key collaborators, celebrate their work publicly, and empower them to tell their stories directly. When arts and aging leaders approach their work as equal partners to service users, older persons are empowered to continue to live their best lives and thrive regardless of their health or socio-economic status. In his dynamic keynote address, international artist and global arts and health leader, Kunle Adewale, will illustrate this co-design process and its impact through examples of his own work using the arts and immersive creative technologies to engage older adults in Nigeria, the U.S., the U.K. and other parts of the globe. 

SUMMIT ORIGIN STORY

“I believe passionately that creative aging is a movement that is set to sweep the world.”

David Cutler, Director at The Baring Foundation, United Kingdom

The International Creative Aging Summit started through a collaboration between Finland and The United Kingdom. For several years, David Cutler, Director at The Baring Foundation in London, Raisa Karttunen, Producer at Armas-festival in Finland, and Jenni Räsänen from the City of Helsinki, collaborated on a variety of projects and shared the vision that creativity is a human right regardless of age. Rapidly aging societies are a reality around the world, and it is easy to see the commonalities in Tulsa, Taipei, Tenby, Helsinki, Hanover, and Hartlepool. However, they realized that international events in both the arts and aging field have yet to fully incorporate the significance of creative aging in their meetings.

• 2019: Global Creative Aging Research Serves as a Catalyst for International Collaboration
  In 2019, The Baring Foundation published the report, “Around the world in 80 creative aging projects,” which proved that there are similar challenges, but different solutions to creative aging implementation across several countries. All three organizational leaders realized that these kinds of examples need to be introduced and shared at a global scale.
• 2021: First Summit Sparks a Growing Need for Creative Aging International Exchange
  In 2021, the City of Helsinki hosted the first creative aging online gathering, “To Infinity and Beyond: Visions and Strategies for the Arts and Our Ageing Societies,” which engaged arts practitioners from 14 different countries. Paul McGarry, Assistant Director at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), GM Ageing Hub, spoke on how culture is a driver for creating an age-friendly city region in Manchester. This initial gathering confirmed that there is an ongoing need for shared learning, inspiration, and mutual support in creative aging through international exchange.
• 2022: “Ageing Artfully: Going Global” Taps Lifetime Arts as Featured Guest and Future Host
  The following year, over 200 participants across five countries attended the online summit, “Ageing Artfully: Going Global,” which was hosted by the Creative Ageing Development Agency (CADA) in collaboration with the City of Helsinki, The Baring Foundation, and GMCA. Virginia Tandy, the Founding Director of CADA, invited Maura O’Malley, CEO/Co-Founder of Lifetime Arts, to speak about creative aging practices and development in the U.S. Following the summit, Raisa met with Maura in New York and asked Lifetime Arts to host the third online gathering in 2023.

Through collaborative partnerships, online gatherings, and an ever-growing network, a successful and annual international summit was established. Every year, the new host brings their own networks, stakeholders, and understanding of creative aging practice. They also serve on the alumni organizing group to support the new host in planning, marketing, and delivering the following convening. Lifetime Arts is honored and thrilled to host this year’s summit, and join the international movement to advance the cultural rights of older adults through creative aging.