National Endowment for the Arts  
Resources
  Accessibility  
 

Arts in Aging

Lifelong learning in the arts educates and engages older adults as teachers, learners and as creators, thereby contributing to individual, community and public life. The National Endowment for the Arts seeks to involve older Americans in on-going, excellent, participatory arts experiences. This includes increasing the sensitivity of professionals and practitioners, both in the fields of aging and the arts, to the need and value of quality arts experiences for, by and with older persons.

Funding Opportunity

Creativity and Aging in America
CFDA No. 45.024

Creativity and Aging in America is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to actively engage older Americans in quality arts programs. Through this initiative, the Arts Endowment will support exemplary projects in the disciplines of literature and music. (Receipt deadline: May 23, 2008)

Continue >>

Resources

Chairman's Report on NEA Activities Relating to Older Americans
The NEA's current Annual Report to the Senate Committee on Aging.

Mini-Conference on Creativity and Aging in America
Convened on May 18-19, 2005 to develop recommendations for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging concerning the importance and value of professional arts programming for, by and with older Americans.

Arts in Aging Resource List
Listing of resources compiled by the Office for AccessAbility at the National Endowment for the Arts.

Creativity & Aging Study
Creativity and Aging Study: The Impact of Professionally Conducted Cultural Programs on Older Adults.  This landmark studyreveals how on-going, community-based arts programs improve the quality of life for older Americans. It is the first study of its kind to examine the impact of professionally conducted arts programs on the physical health, mental health, and social functioning of older adults.  The Arts Endowment initiated the four-year Study and developed a public/ private partnership to support and oversee it. It was conducted and coordinated by George Washington University under the direction of Dr. Gene Cohen who is the primary investigator.   Download PDF

Creativity and Aging Best Practices
The National Endowment for the Arts seeks to make the arts more widely accessible to older adults by engaging them in professional and participatory art programs and increasing awareness among arts and aging professionals and practitioners on the link between the arts and wellness.  The Office for AccessAbility has compiled some examples of “Best Practice” Arts and Aging programs.    Download PDF

Articles

Retirees Discover A Place to Foster Their Inner Artist
By Patricia Leigh Brown

Writing as a Treasure: Elders Recount Tales From Every Age
and Stage of Their Lives

By Susan Willerman
For almost 10 years, I have facilitated an Elders Share the Arts (ESTA) writing workshop at Morning side Gardens Retirement and Health Services in Manhattan...  Read complete story

Links

Adaptive Environments Center
A non-profit organization, AE was founded in 1978 to address the environmental issues that confront people with disabilities and older Americans.

National Center on Creative Aging
The National Center for Creative Aging (NCCA) works to foster an understanding of the vital relationship between creative expression and the quality of life of older people.

UW Milwaukee Residency in Applied Arts
The Center on Age & Community at UW Milwaukee’s three-month Residency in Applied Arts was designed to encourage artists to apply their talents to working with older adults. This pioneering new initiative links established artists from all disciplines to the rapidly growing field of elder care. Projects address the quality of life for people with dementia and raise public awareness about their capacities.

2008 Study: Above Ground
Information on Artists III: Special Focus New York City Aging Artists

Above Ground is a study conducted by the Teachers College at Columbia University that focuses on how artists (who often reachartistic maturity and increased artistic satisfaction asthey age) are supported and integrated within theircommunities and how their network structureschange over time.

Creativity Matters:  The Arts and Aging Toolkit
The Arts and Aging Toolkit is designed to assist in the development of arts programming for, by and with older adults. It offers strategies and a wealth of resources for enhancing the quality of life through a wide variety of arts programs that demonstrate excellence.  The Toolkit describes:

  • the benefits of art programs for older people;
  • the existing services and organizations for  arts and aging;
  • best practices in designing, funding , implementing, sustaining and evaluating art programs for older people; and
  • case studies of outstanding programs.


Return to Accesibility Top Page >