Creative Aging Program Roundup

This year more than 900 people aged 55+ from New Mexico to New Hampshire attended 65 Creative Aging programs in public libraries, arts organizations, and community spaces where they mastered new art-making skills such as digital photography, acting, creative writing, singing, and dancing.

How do these programs work?

These arts workshops were offered through several regional and national initiatives on which we have partnered with Aroha Philanthropies (Seeding Vitality Arts: US and Seeding Vitality Arts: Minnesota as well as Catalyzing Creative Aging with the National Guild for Community Arts Education); the Westchester Community Foundation (Creative Aging in Westchester County); and the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation (Catalyzing Creativity). We work with these partners to design programs, train staff at participating organizations, and provide ongoing technical assistance to program grantees as they deliver new Creative Aging workshops.

What’s up next?

This summer, we also partnered with Aroha Philanthropies and the American Alliance of Museums to launch Seeding Vitality Arts in Museums. The inaugural cohort for this project was announced earlier this month, and the initiative will kick-off in November.

The Catalyzing Creative Aging project with the National Guild, Lifetime Arts will provide training and technical assistance to 20 additional arts organizations for eight months via a series of workshops, webinars, and video consultations designed to increase each organization’s capacity to serve older adults through skill-based, participatory arts programs. Ten of the participating organizations will be selected — through a separate competitive application process — to receive seed grants of up to $7,000 from the National Guild to implement new creative aging programs beginning in fall 2019.

Program Spotlight

A group shot of participants, teaching artist, and Ed Friedman at the culminating event at The LOFT. The group are standing side by side with their arms around each other in front of a podium.
Lifetime Arts Co-Founder and Executive Director, Ed Friedman, was on hand at the reading to celebrate with the participants, friends, family and staff.

 

Workshop: Write OUT!

Location: The LOFT: LGBT Community Services Center, White Plains, NY

Made possible by: The Westchester Community Foundation

Memoir program participants at The LOFT: LGBT Community Services Center in White Plains, NY celebrated the completion of an eight week workshop titled, “Write OUT!” This free writing course was specifically designed  to teach LGBT and allied older adults how to reflect, process, and write a memoir about experiences related to the community.

During the event, participants read their work that was created during the class, and their work was compiled into a publication to share. Congratulations to The LOFT for developing such a powerful program for their community, and bravo to the participants.