Arts and Aging Programs for Older Adults

In a previous post, I wrote about a library program that focused on older women artists and how art enriched their lives. If you are interested in having art programs for older adults at your library, the National Center for Creative Aging website is a good place to find information. This organization provides training for art programs, promotes arts and aging programs, and supports research concerning aging and the arts.

The National Center for Creative Aging (NCCA) is “dedicated to fostering an understanding of the vital relationship between creative expression and healthy aging and to developing programs that build on this understanding." Older adults can locate local art programs by using the Arts and Aging National Directory. This search can be used to find literary, media, performing, or visual arts programs. The NCAA website has more creative aging resources here.

"Ageing Artfully" Program

I recently attended an older adult program at my public library, which was led by Amy Gorman. She is the author of an excellent book called “Aging Artfully: 12 Profiles of Visual and Performing Women Artists 85-105”. The older women described in the book enjoy life and are passionate about their art. I believe that older adults will find this book inspirational and empowering. "Aging Artfully" recently won a Bronze Medal from the prestigious 2007 Independent Publishing Book Awards (IPPYS), in the category of Women's Issues.

During the presentation, Amy Gorman talked about how she decided to write this book after seeking out older adult women artists to be her role models. She showed a film called “Still Kicking: Six high spirited women reveal that growing old is not a curse-it’s an opportunity” which included interviews with six women from her book. The film was very moving and well done. I would recommend Amy Gorman's book and this film for any public library collection.

This presentation was well attended and the audience not only enjoyed the program, but also participated in a spirited question and answer session with the author. The presentation was a great example of a positive portrayal of aging – one in which old age is viewed as a time for creativity and sharing one’s art and experiences.