Creative Aging Powered by Connection, Collaboration, and Celebration

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Participants during the culminating event for a visual arts program, a partnership between the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco (FAMSF) and San Francisco Recreation & Parks, as part of the Vitality Arts Project for Art Museums Initiative. Credit: Andria Lo

This year’s theme for Older Americans Month is “Powered by Connection,” which recognizes the impact that meaningful relationships and social connections have on our health and wellbeing. Connection is what fuels the power of creative aging programs for older adults, and it begins with us and those we partner with. Fostering communities where everyone is seen as valued, creative, and contributing members to society is only possible when there’s a strong pillar of creative aging leaders, practitioners, and advocates supporting each other. Let’s explore how our work in creative aging is powered by connection, collaboration, and celebration!

Collaboration via National Cross-sector Partnerships

Building a strong community is at the heart of our national projects with state arts agencies, libraries, and museums. We empower our partners to lead this work alongside us. Since 2021, we’ve collaborated with over 22 state arts agencies and trained hundreds of teaching artists, museum staff, and library workers across the country to create programs that engage their community of older adults. These programs not only serve this population; they spark cross-sector collaboration with other organizations who support older adults’ health and wellness.

State Arts Agencies

“Working with the teaching artists has made me understand the teaching process and goal setting aspect of this work. Using their framework, we now have a separate teaching artist coming in to teach other programs in our building. Overall, this project has really changed my programming and the way I look at providing art to our veterans.”

– April Floyd, Activity Coordinator,
Idaho State Veterans Home Boise

Through the Advancing Creative Aging in Western States Initiative, a partnership with state arts agencies in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming, we’re working together to serve hundreds of older adults in rural communities and build a network of cross-sector agencies piloting creative aging projects. Lifetime Arts has helped spread the vision for collaboration through seminars and resources highlighting successful inter-agency partnerships. Our latest seminar featured the inspiring partnership between Idaho Commission on the Arts and Idaho Division of Veterans Services, which led to innovative creative aging programs in the state veterans’ homes. This summer, each of these five states are working with Lifetime Arts to host convenings for new and existing partners to strategize the integration of arts education into older adult services.

Public Libraries

Participants and teaching artist perform, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” during a ukulele program at the Natrona County Library in Casper, Wyoming.

Libraries have always been recognized as age-friendly community hubs for learning and social engagement. As part of the Advancing Creative Aging Through State Library Leadership Initiative, Lifetime Arts and our state library partners in Wyoming and Missouri are seeding creative aging programming throughout 132 public and county library systems across the two states. In addition to training and coaching, we are convening library workers across the country to explore effective program evaluation, cross-sector community partnerships, and documentation. Together, we are building a workforce of skilled library workers who feel empowered to enrich their community and establish a sustainable foundation of high-demand arts programming.

Museums

This film was created by the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) and features students and teachers sharing their experiences learning new skills, cultivating creativity, and being in community through creative aging programs offered at the museum.

Museums are essential institutions for creative aging, offering abundant culture, history, and opportunities for artistic expression. While these institutions cumulatively spend more than $2 billion on educational programming, 75% of those funds go towards programs for youth aged 18 and under, according to the American Alliance of Museums. This leaves limited resources dedicated to programming for the older adults who make up a large percentage of their audience. As part of E. A. Michelson’s Vitality Arts Project for Art Museums Initiative, Lifetime arts has trained and consulted with 25 prominent art museums across the country to expand educational arts programs for their older adult audience and address the barriers of ageism. Read highlights from our training engagements he r e.

Celebration of Teaching Artists

Lifetime Arts Trainers, Sarah Jacobus, Jade Lam, Antonia Perez, and Dane Stauffer, share their most fulfilling moments as teaching artists.

In honor of National Teaching Artist Appreciation Week, which has been declared the third week of May since 2012 by the Teaching Artists Guild, we want to emphasize a teaching artists’ vital role in forging deep connections with their students and fostering safe spaces for learning, expression, creativity, and social connection. Teaching artists not only connect older adults to the joy of artmaking, but also to each other and to the broader community. Learn more about the power of teaching artists via a conversation between Annie Montgomery, Senior Education Designer & Trainer and Rhynna M. Santos, Lifetime Arts Trainer.

Connection via Resources + Storytelling

A participant during a program at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. Credit: Andria Lo

The best way to show the real-life impact of creative aging is through shared learning and storytelling. Our growing website, The Creative Aging Resource, is home to 800+ creative aging resources from research experts, practitioners, and advocates around the world. This site also includes our bi-annual resource journal, which reports on relevant topics and advancements in creative aging. Read our latest issue on the impact of universal design in creative aging programming and subscribe for free. Share your creative aging story below if a program you were involved in made a difference for you, your organization, or your community!

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