In collaboration with E.A. Michelson Philanthropy, NASAA is making available up to $855,000 in grant funding for nine state arts agencies strengthen meaningful arts learning experiences for older Americans. States Leading Creative Aging grant funded activities will take place between July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2025.
Sustaining Creative Aging will develop a model for sustainable, regionally specific, partnership based models of support for creative aging in Arizona.
Using what was learned from the Leveraging State Investments in Creative Aging funding and prior years of comprehensive creative aging programing, the Arizona Commission on the Arts is committed to developing a model of sustainable creative aging programming, working within existing systems, specifically local arts agencies, to create new structures for creative aging programing to thrive. The Sustaining Creative Aging initiative will focus on a partnership model that identifies three organizations within a geographic region such as a local arts agency or arts organization, teaching artists, and an aging service organization such as a local senior center or residential facility. The project, to take place during the time frame of this grant, will focus on the southern Arizona region. This project combines intentional fieldwork, relationship building, and outreach along with professional development, asset and needs assessment, personalized training, and embedded creative aging teaching artist residencies to create regionally specific, partnership based models of support for creative aging.
Through Delaware’s Creative Aging arts program, participants can improve their emotional well-being, learn a new skill and strengthen social bonds.
Delaware’s Access Creative Aging program is designed for adults age 55+ with a sequential series of one- to two-hour classes that meet for eight weeks and are led by a trained teaching artist. Class sizes range from a minimum of six participants to a maximum of 15 participants for individualized attention and meaningful engagement. Learning, fun and fellowship are the expected outcomes of the program. A celebratory, culminating event is also included to share the participants’ work with family, friends and the public.
Lifelong Arts for Arts Organizations (LAAO) program will build capacity, expertise and sector leadership in the field of creative aging for a cohort of four arts organizations in Indiana.
Lifelong Arts for Arts Organizations (LAAO) will provide to selected arts organizations: (1) professional learning opportunities to teaching staff and leadership led by state based experts; (2) coaching for developing and implementing a sequential arts learning program for older adults as well as creating deep community partnerships with aging services organizations; (3) funding to implement a creative aging program; and (4) share-out of best practices by arts organizations to the field, peer-to-peer, at a statewide arts education conference. The program will be divided into three phases: (1) training (February 2024); (2) post-workshop activities and program implementation (March 2024 – May 2025); and (3) sharing program findings (July 2024 – April 2025).
The Creative Aging Arts Program strengthens public awareness and provides interactive artist residencies to serve older adults in Nebraska.
The Nebraska Arts Council (NAC) will further develop and expand its Creative Aging Arts Program (CAAP) through training, documentation of programs, promotion and support for more artist residencies. NAC will provide curricular development training to additional teaching artists to ensure more representation of CAAP Cohort artists in underserved communities. Training in creative aging program development and administration will be offered for staff from sponsoring organizations, with Nebraska Public Libraries as the lead partner. The number of artist residencies supported through NAC grants will increase, and ongoing program evaluation will help to guide CAAP’s development. NAC will engage in video production, public presentations, and expanded digital media coverage. The States Leading Creative Aging grant will help NAC to build awareness of the cultural enrichment that CAAP brings to communities and foster widespread support in the years to come.
The New York State Council on the Arts will continue its investment in creative aging field building through programming, in partnership with 10 community based partners; documentation; and professional development and convenings facilitated by Lifetime Arts.
New York’s Creative Aging Leaders Network project has four components. Ten “anchor” organizations, with previous creative aging experience, will receive funding to deepen their practice in running two creative aging workshops. These organizations serve a wide variety of underrepresented communities across the state. Anchor organizations will participate in six quarterly professional development sessions facilitated by Lifetime Arts, and will learn from each other and from experts, including a focus on documentation. Half of these sessions will be opened up as convenings for a wider audience of stakeholders from the arts and aging communities.
In this next phase of Creative Aging Ohio, the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) will build assets and expand access to creative aging resources in areas of the state that have historically lacked the trust, buy-in, resources and participation necessary to fuel a truly statewide movement through additional trainings for teaching artists and program administrators, supporting artist residencies, and a final convening.
Creative Aging Ohio: Building Bridges to Sustained Communities will focus on expanding opportunities to populations with unmet creative aging needs. This will be accomplished through a set of state level partnerships to include the State Library of Ohio, Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging and OAC’s own network of grantees in diverse geographic places. The project will take place over two years and will consist of a quartet of primary activities, including: (1) 12 hours of virtual training for 25 teaching artists; (2) 6 hours of virtual training for 25 host site representatives; (3) 25 in-person residencies at 25 host sites, located in historically under-resourced communities; and (4) a final in-person convening that will bring together creative aging stakeholders for celebration, reflection and planning for what a statewide network of creative aging in Ohio can look like. A primary outcome from the above will include a new statewide Creative Aging Teaching Artist Roster of 50 trained and experienced teaching artists.
Creative Aging Tennessee III will expand arts programming targeted to older adults in rural and culturally specific communities by developing relationships and offering training to traditional artists, partnering with statewide groups to increase accessibility, and providing funding opportunities to increase arts programs for older adults throughout Tennessee.
The Creative Aging Tennessee III project will provide resources to expand arts programming targeted to older adults in rural and culturally specific communities. In partnership with Lifetime Arts, training will be offered to creative aging teaching artists to learn best practices in working with older adults of differing physical and cognitive abilities and to continue training in sequential learning techniques. This initiative will also focus on establishing partnerships with statewide and community groups to increase accessibility and offering grant funding for programming to reach older adults in these communities.
The project aims to increase the capacity of the state to serve older adults through networking, grant making, teaching artist training and focus on equity through key partnerships.
Through the Vermont Creative Aging Capacity Project, the Vermont Arts Council will work to partner with and convene stakeholders who contribute to a coordinated system of care for older adults, fund model creative aging programs that prioritize skill building and social engagement, support teaching artists with training and mentorship, and work with partners to systematically diversify the voices contributing to the state’s creative aging efforts. The council will work with Lifetime Arts to deepen engagement with stakeholders including teaching artists, arts organizations, senior centers, councils on aging and more. Stakeholders will help identify areas of focus around access and programming gaps. Through a partnership with Clemmons Family Farm, the project aims to diversify the voices contributing to the state’s creative aging efforts through teaching artist recruitment and culturally responsive training. Teaching Artist Connect will provide additional training and mentorship for teaching artists engaged in creative aging programming as part of the Arts Council’s Idea Exchange program. The Arts Council will launch a grant program to fund model programs, regranting funds and documenting the partnerships and programming that contribute to the state’s coordinated efforts around creative and social engagement through artist residencies across the state.
This award allows us to continue our creative aging programming in Wyoming by funding another round of teaching artist training from Lifetime Arts, and regranting to support creative aging programming developed by Wyoming based artists and arts organizations.
Through the Creative Aging Training and Grants in Wyoming project, the Wyoming Arts Council (WAC) will continue to expand our current creative aging programming, building on the strong foundation that has been built over the past four years. WAC will train additional teaching artists in best practices for creative aging programs, and will regrant funds to develop creative aging programming across Wyoming. Lifetime Arts will provide training for up to 25 additional teaching artists across the state. Funds will also be used for program grants for arts organizations and individual artists to continue or develop partnerships with eldercare facilities in their region to jointly create a partnership for creative aging programs. This competitive regrant program will allow arts organizations and teaching artists to apply for a $7,500 program grant to support at least three creative aging program series. WAC will be able to award 11 of these grants, which will cover artist fees, materials and supplies.