Artists' Training

By 2030, 20% of the US population will be over 65. Senior centers, retirement communities, schools, libraries and community groups are looking for teaching artists who can design and facilitate effective creative aging programs. As the demand for these programs continues to grow, skilled teaching artists will be key in determining the quality and effectiveness of programming. Teaching artists that are able to provide meaningful arts programs for older adults will be the most gainfully employed and will help move "senior" programming from passive entertainment to active learning.

With support from the New York State Council on the Arts, and in partnership with the National Center for Creative Aging, Lifetime Arts is conducting training workshops during 2011 to introduce teaching artists to the emerging field of creative aging. Full day workshops will help artists will become familiar with current research on arts and aging, analyze best practices and understand how their K-12 arts education expertise forms a strong basis for working with older adults. They'll learn what's different about adult learning and will become familiar with the range and diversity of senior service providers as well as community arts employment opportunities. This project is the first step in launching a program of on-going, in-depth, professional development opportunities for artists.