Older adults have vital contributions to make to society as creators and community members. Abundant evidence shows that arts participation improves the emotional well-being of older adults, supports good health, strengthens social bonds, and brings a heightened experience of purpose and joy to our lives as we mature. However, older adults all too often experience the effects of ageism, isolation and limited access to meaningful arts learning experiences. State arts agencies can help to address these gaps by facilitating creative aging programming as an antidote to isolation, an affirmation of life and a pathway to flourishing for older adults.

NASAA expresses sincere appreciation to E.A. Michelson Philanthropy for its partnership as well as financial support of the Leveraging State Investments in Creative Aging initiative. We salute E.A. Michelson Philanthropy’s visionary advocacy on behalf of the creative capacity of adults 55 and better. NASAA also thanks Lifetime Arts for its leadership and expertise in propagating exemplary creative aging practices nationwide.

Photos, top to bottom: Young@Heart Chorus, photo courtesy of Young@Heart, explore their concert footage on YouTube; Participants in Create/Change AZ, photo by Alonso Parra, courtesy of Arizona Commission on the Arts; Students celebrate a successful performance at the Littleton Area Senior Center, photo by Chris Finer, courtesy of New Hampshire State Council on the Arts; A creative aging design class at ARCHbeta, photo by Ryan Leighton, courtesy of Maine Arts Commission; Delaware Art Museum’s adult education program, photo courtesy of Delaware Division of the Arts