Creative Aging

What I Learned in a Year of Writing “Museums and Creative Aging: A Healthful Partnership”

By Marjorie Schwarzer

The creative aging movement is coming of age, and just in the nick of time. As of last year, 80 percent of state arts agencies across the United States reported a high or very high demand for creative aging programs in their state, which …
Museums and Creative Aging: A Healthful Partnership

By American Alliance of Museums

This landmark report commissioned by the American Alliance of Museums and written by Marjorie Schwarzer is a call to action for museums to change the narrative about what it means to grow old in America. Opening with an overview of aging …
Seasons of Growth: Creative Aging on Display at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center

By Claire Carlson

In October 2020, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, opened the gallery exhibition Art Links Sheboygan: Seasons of Growth, the culmination of a new program to promote creative aging. The program, Art Links …
Viva La Vida: Creative Aging at the National Museum of Mexican Art

By Joseph O'Neill

Like many of the museums that have discussed their creative aging work for our “Museums and Aging” series, the National Museum of Mexican Art participates in Seeding Vitality Arts, an initiative to create sequential …
The Benefits and Challenges of Producing Creative Aging Programs for the LGBTQIA+ Community

By Eli Burke

Since 2018, AAM has partnered with Aroha Philanthropies to highlight and support museums that are developing programs for older adults, and to encourage others to do the same. The aim has been to address the epidemic of ageism, both within …
Rebuilding Pathways: How DEAI and Creative Aging Intersect at the Speed Art Museum

By Toya Northington, in conversation with Marjorie Schwarzer

As museums work to become more diverse, equitable, accessible, and inclusive, one community is often left out of the discourse: people over the age of fifty-five. This may be because they already appear to be well-represented. After all, …
Giving Back: Three Model Practices for Sustaining Older Volunteers during COVID-19

By Marjorie Schwarzer

As cases of COVID-19 spike across the country, resulting in more museums suspending operations, what are the implications for older docents and volunteers, especially in regard to ageism and creative aging? In part one of this two-part …
Giving Back: Museums and Older Volunteers during COVID-19

By Marjorie Schwarzer

As cases of COVID-19 spike across the country, resulting in more museums suspending operations, what are the implications for older docents and volunteers, especially in regard to ageism and creative aging? In part one of this two-part …
Register now for Perspectives on Legacy Creative Aging Virtual Conference

By Elizabeth Merritt

The Alliance’s work on museums and creative aging, supported by Aroha Philanthropies, focuses on “healthy aging”—how museums can foster curiosity, growth, and social connections among people “fifty-five and better.” While outside the …
Bridging Isolation: The Anchorage Museum’s Virtual Movement Workshops for Older Adults during COVID-19

By Molissa Udevitz

On a Tuesday morning in July, older adults from across Southcentral Alaska danced to feel-good songs, including Bobby Darin’s “Splish Splash” and Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move,” from the comfort of their homes and …