Wyoming: Creative Aging Initiative

Jackson Hole Living Center residents take part in an arts class offered by St. John’s Hospital Foundation. Photo courtesy St. John’s Hospital Foundation

The Wyoming Arts Council, the Wyoming State Library and Lifetime Arts have entered into a unique collaboration to advance creative aging. The new initiative will support the design and delivery of programs specifically designed to meet the needs of older adults. In-depth training programs, slated to commence in 2021, will be offered to teaching artists and librarians. The initiative also includes a $150,000 seed grant program to support arts education programming for older adults in public libraries across the state. Programs will be geared toward developing on-site and virtual programs that support wellness and lifelong learning in a socially supportive environment.

While creative aging is relevant to every state, this initiative has special urgency for Wyoming because it has one of the fastest-growing senior populations in the nation. The partnership capitalizes on the arts expertise of the Wyoming Arts Council and the creative aging expertise of Lifetime Arts combined with the power of the state’s library system to reach older adults. As Lifetime Arts has demonstrated through its work on prior initiatives, libraries offer a highly accessible and “age neutral” delivery system that appeals to older adults who may be reluctant to go to senior centers. Libraries play a key role as highly accessible and inclusive centers for community arts programming, including creative aging.

The initiative has received funding from the Wyoming Community Foundation and the May & Stanley Smith Charitable Trust. To learn more, contact Joshua Chrysler at the Wyoming Arts Council or Maura O’Malley at Lifetime Arts.