The following are links to creative aging-related resources.
Countering Isolation With Creativity
This article from the July issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review by Teresa Bonner discusses how arts programs specially designed to help older adults access and benefit from quality lifelong learning can foster connections with others and restore a sense of purpose and joy.
The National Assembly of States Arts Agencies has compiled a helpful list of resources related to various aspects of creative aging, including program examples, resources on combating ageism using arts education, available grant funding, and professional development opportunities.
Creative Aging Foundations On Demand
This free, self-paced, online course from Lifetime Arts is designed for institutions and individuals seeking to run successful, participatory artmaking programming for older adults.
Lifetime Arts developed this website to gather resources on the topic of creative aging. In addition to articles, the website also features case studies and links to featured experts and organizations.
This free PDF book download explores the part that traditional arts play in the lives of older adults, stressing the critical importance of ethnographic studies of creative aging for understanding the meaningful lives of seniors.
Read this free PDF download of Folk Art and Aging by Jon Kay. In it, Kay explores how some seniors tap into their creative potential through making life-story objects.
The Memory, Art, and Aging Resource and Activity Guide is formatted specifically for seniors. The guide includes a list of resources, activity plans, and instructional materials based on local foodways, music, and crafts that both facilities and individuals can use.
Old School Anti-Ageism Resources
Old School is a clearinghouse of free resources to educate people about ageism and help dismantle it. It includes blogs, books, articles, videos, speakers, and other tools (workshops, handouts, curricula etc.) that are accessible to the general public.
Untapped Opportunity: Older Americans and the Arts
This special report sheds light on older generations’ distinct preferences and behaviors to provide relevant insights for cultural engagement. These findings are focused on the U.S. population aged 55 and over, who were surveyed as part of the Culture + Community in a Time of Transformation national survey, fielded from April 5 to April 30, 2021 (PDF, 33 pages)