As part of the Vitality Arts Project for Art Museums Initiative and through a partnership with Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Lifetime Arts will train up to 25 Missouri-based teaching artists in best practices in planning, designing, promoting, implementing, evaluating, and sustaining successful creative aging programming. Training dates and details are listed below.

Creative Aging Foundations Training for Teaching Artists

November 14-16, 2022 from 9am-11am CT

In this three-day 6-hour virtual training for teaching artists, Lifetime Arts will provide an overview of the creative aging field, including an understanding of shifting demographics, different areas of practice, and the cross-sector nature of the work. Participants will leave the training with concrete, first steps to incorporate Creative Aging into their practice. Core curricular topics covered include:

• History of creative aging
• Current research on arts and aging
• Inherent biases about aging
• Best practices in the field
• What’s different about adult learning
• How to apply K-12 arts ed expertise to 55+
• How to develop responsive programming that is inclusive, diverse, and equitable

In addition to covering the topics included in the core Creative Aging Foundations training, this course also will feature the examination and demonstration of approaches for teaching adult learners and to the development of skill-based, sequential lessons for older adults. Additional curricular topics include:

• Exemplary programming from across this growing field across artistic disciplines
• Embedding intentional social engagement activities
• Impact of ageism on creative aging program design and delivery
• Best practices in both in-person and remote programming
• Creative aging curriculum development
• Partnering with older adult communities

Age Equity Webinar and Workshop Series for Cross-Departmental Museum Staff

January – February 2023

Ageism is often invisible and pervasive in our communities, institutions, and organizations. Art museums are uniquely positioned to play a leading role in providing innovative programming that fosters positive aging and dismantles ageist barriers. However, to successfully address ageism in our museum’s activities, programming, and marketing, we must first address it in ourselves.

In this workshop, museum staff across multiple departments will hear from nationally-recognized researchers and advocates who are proactively addressing the prejudice of ageism. They will then be guided through a process of self reflection, group dialogue, and future visioning to develop ways to advance age equity in their museum and beyond. Participants will:

• Analyze their own experience of aging in small group discussions and consider the impact of ageism on older adults’ access to museum programs, as well as program design and delivery.
• Examine the ways artmaking can combat both internal and external ageism.
• Engage with one another to generate ideas, and work together to identify action steps that each of them can take to combat ageism within their museum.

Registration will be managed by Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Registered trainees will be enrolled as users in the Lifetime Arts Portal, where they will access training materials, Zoom links, pre-reading, resources, and trainer bios.

• Anne Manning, Deputy Director, Learning and Engagement, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
• Julie Kline, Director of Education & Training, Lifetime Arts