Cross-sector, state-level partnerships are key to sustaining and ensuring access to creative aging programming, especially for older adults in rural communities. Research shows that these arts education programs contribute significantly to healthy aging and increased social connection. The Advancing Creative Aging in Westerns States Initiative, launched in 2023, is designed to deepen and sustain collaboration among state agency partners to advance creative aging in the Western region. Currently the Initiative includes partnership teams in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah. These teams include leaders from state arts agencies, state libraries, and state veterans services, and will expand to include aging services and health and human services.
Lifetime Arts will provide consulting services and information resources for multiple stakeholders across these state agencies. These resources are designed to support new and existing partnerships across state agencies and their constituent organizations. Lifetime Arts also is supporting the development and implementation of up to five creative aging programs in sector-specific host organizations in each state. These programs will serve a total of 500 older adults and help to demonstrate the benefits and efficacy of creative aging.
From the abstract:
The term “creative aging,” in the broadest sense, describes an aging policy idea that focuses on highlighting the creativity of older adults in order to prepare individuals and communities to manage old age. Programs focus on the evolution of creativity over the lifespan and aim to provide meaningful participatory engagement, especially through the arts.
From the abstract:
Social entrepreneurship is usually understood as an economic activity which focuses at social values, goals, and investments that generates surpluses for social entrepreneurs as individuals, groups, and startups who are working for the benefit of communities, instead of strictly focusing mainly at the financial profit, economic values, and the benefit generated for shareholders or owners. Social entrepreneurship combines the production of goods, services, and knowledge in order to achieve both social and economic goals and allow for solidarity building.
From a broader perspective, entities that are focused on social entrepreneurship are identified as parts of the social and solidarity economy. These are, for example, social enterprises, cooperatives, mutual organizations, self-help groups, charities, unions, fair trade companies, community enterprises, and time banks. Social innovation is a key element of social entrepreneurship.
Social innovation is usually understood as new strategies, concepts, products, services, and organizational forms that allow for the satisfaction of needs. Such innovations are created in particular in the contact areas of various sectors of the social system. For example, these are spaces between the public sector, the private sector, and civil society. These innovations not only allow the solving of problems but also extend possibilities for public action.
From the report details:
A highly popular collection of 50 creative activities for use in any setting with older people. Contributed by arts organisations and artists across the UK.
From the report details:
In the spirit of Phileas Fogg (who had open credit with Barings Bank), this book reveals 80 projects offering arts (of all forms) to older people from Europe, Asia, the US, Australia and New Zealand. Includes a set of travel itineraries to help you plan a creative ageing journey of your own. Also available in Chinese courtesy of the British Council.
From the report details:
On 23 March 2020, many arts organisations working with older people ‘went remote’ almost overnight, with most starting from scratch. They provided live creative sessions online, demonstrated activities on YouTube, made up weekly letters and activity packs to post to participants, and delivered sessions by telephone. Many went beyond their creative services, calling participants to see how they were, raising funds to provide participants with tablets, and delivering food and essentials to those shielding.
This report is based on a small survey and 16 case studies of creative ageing organisations across the UK, as well as learning from a decade of funding in this field.
It highlights some of the ways in which arts organisations have supported the wellbeing of older people during the COVID-19 pandemic, explores the challenges that they are facing, and asks what needs to happen to make sure they can continue to do so.
From the report details:
How is Finland approaching the creative and cultural rights of and provision for older people? This report is aimed at practitioners such as artists and carers, as well as policy makers and funders anywhere in the world with an interest in what more can be done to support older people, especially vulnerable older people, to take part in culture and creativity. It includes a set of 18 case studies, as well as useful information about the Finnish context and reflections in relation to the field of creative aging in the UK.
“For 30 years the Wyoming Community Foundation (WYCF) has connected people who care with causes that matter to build a better Wyoming. WYCF has granted over $70 million to charitable causes while also providing a variety of supports to our nonprofit agency fund holders.”
Creative Aging Focus:
In 2020, Wyoming Community Foundation granted $20,000 to the Wyoming State Arts Council to support a comprehensive creative aging training (teaching artists and librarians) program and seed grants providing 40 programs around the state. Other funders included the May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust.
“The Westchester Community Foundation is a division of The New York Community Trust, which has been helping New Yorkers achieve results through philanthropy since 1924. We work with our donor-advisors to broaden their philanthropic horizons to support the causes and issues they care deeply about.”
Creative Aging Focus:
Westchester Community Foundation has supported creative aging programming through Lifetime Arts, offering workshop series in senior centers, LGBT service organizations and faith based community organizations.
