FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Arlington, VA – Aroha Philanthropies, the American Alliance of Museums, and Lifetime Arts announced today that 20 museums and organizations have been tapped to participate in a new initiative, funded and managed by Aroha Philanthropies, Seeding Vitality Arts in Museums.

The list of the participating organizations is below.

• Adventure Science Center, Nashville, TN
• Albuquerque Museum Foundation, Albuquerque, NM
• Anchorage Museum Association, Anchorage, AK
• Craft & Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
• Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance, Chicago, IL
• Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ
• John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
• The Louisiana Museum Foundation, New Orleans, LA
• Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, San Juan, PR
• Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson, Tucson, AZ
• Museum L-A, Lewiston, ME
• Naples Botanical Garden, Naples, FL
• National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
• Neon Museum, Las Vegas, NV
• Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH
• The Olana Partnership, Hudson, NY
• Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts, Camden, NJ
• Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
• Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY
• Union County Historical Society and Heritage Museum, New Albany, MS

The more than $1 million project will enable these museums to develop and implement high quality, intensive arts learning opportunities for older adults.

All three organizations feel there is an urgent need to change the narrative about what it means to grow old in America, combat ageism, and promote a healthy change in societal attitudes toward aging as growth and older adults as contributors.

The goals of Seeding Vitality Arts are diverse:

• Demonstrate the power and impact of creative aging programs to a broad national audience
• Encourage arts and cultural organizations to develop participatory arts education programs for older adults
• Encourage organizations that serve older adults to develop arts education programming
• Disseminate effective program models

Aroha Philanthropies Founder and President Ellen A. Michelson said, “Aroha is thrilled that this new partnership with these 20 museums will bring the gift of creativity to older adults.”

 The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is advising on the initiative, has helped recruit this new museum cohort, and will assist with documenting and disseminating the outcomes of this work. AAM has played a similar role in Innovation Lab, a program created and run by EmcArts with funding from the Doris Duke Foundation. AAM also will tell the stories of museums that participate, setting the stage for more institutions to offer programs and services for creative aging in their own communities.

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Lifetime Arts, the nationally recognized leader in designing and disseminating model creative aging programs for active older adults, will provide training and technical assistance to museum grantees. Lifetime Arts has partnered with Aroha Philanthropies in its two previous Seeding Vitality Arts cohorts.

Lifetime Arts CEO and Co-Founder Maura O’Malley said, “Lifetime Arts is excited to work with this special group of museums which represents a diverse range of collections, programming and communities from Alaska to Puerto Rico. The Vitality Arts Museum Cohort will advance our efforts to improve the lives of America’s older adults through arts education. We are thrilled to be part of this important initiative.”

“We look forward to helping these 20 museums share their stories with our field as they demonstrate museums’ positive effect on social connections, happiness and health outcomes,” said Alliance President and CEO Laura Lott. “This outstanding cohort underscores the fact that museums of all types and sizes can enrich the lives of people at all ages.”

About Aroha Philanthropies

Aroha Philanthropies is devoted to the transformative power of the arts and creativity, inspiring vitality in those over 55, joy in children and youth, and humanity in adults with mental illness. We believe that learning, making, and sharing art enriches everyone throughout their lifetime. Aroha Philanthropies works to improve the quality of life of people 55+ by encouraging the funding, development, and proliferation of arts programs designed to enhance longer lives, and by advancing the development of professional teaching artists working with those in their encore years. More information is available at arohaphilanthropies.org.

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. Representing more than 35,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions, and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance stands for the broad scope of the museum community. For more information, visit aam-us.org.

About Lifetime Arts

Lifetime Arts, Inc. was founded in 2008 as a service organization with a singular goal: to enrich the lives of older adults through arts education. Lifetime Arts works nationally to build the capacity of organizations, agencies, and individuals to initiate, develop, implement, and sustain professionally-conducted Creative Aging programs for the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. More information is available at lifetimearts.org

 

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Press Contact:

David Harrison

Harrison Communications

410-804-1728

david@harrisoncommunications.net