This fall, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh along with the Age Strong Commission and the Office of Arts and Culture, announced a partnership with Goddard House Community Initiatives and Lifetime Arts that brought free arts programming to older adults in the Jamaica Plain, Mattapan and South End neighborhoods.

The Creative Aging Program (CAP) expanded creative arts education for older adults, broadened awareness of teaching artists, and demonstrates the benefits and efficacy of integrating arts into older adult education.

This initiative featured three workshop series, all of which focused on visual art forms. Lifetime Arts documented all three sessions, two of which were held at branches of the Boston Public Library and the other was hosted by Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, (IBA Boston), a nonprofit based in the South End which offers affordable housing and supportive programming to improve the knowledge, life skills and health of participants of all ages.

A continuation of a successful initiative launched in 2016, Aroha Philanthropies again partnered with Lifetime Arts in 2019 for Seeding Vitality Arts, Creative Aging programming in museums and other arts and cultural organizations across the country. 

The National Guild’s Catalyzing Creative Aging program is a multi-phase initiative designed to support the establishment of new creative aging programs at nonprofit arts education organizations nationwide. The program is presented in partnership with Lifetime Arts and provides group training, one-on-one coaching, and funding to community arts education organizations in order to increase their capacity to serve older adults through skill-based, participatory arts programs. This year, the Guild announced the 2019-2020 Catalyzing Creative Aging cohort, who participated in the full-day pre-conference workshop training, the Catalyzing Creative Aging Institute, which was led by Lifetime Arts. 

The New York City Creative Aging Initiative, made possible through generous support from The New York Community Trust (NYCT), is a two-year project designed to advance a more sustainable and robust Creative Aging field in New York City. 

In 2019, Lifetime Arts offered nearly 20 in-person training sessions, webinars, and networking salons to staff at senior centers, arts organizations and teaching artists.

Throughout the year, Lifetime Arts spoke and facilitated at several conferences, including, American Allliance of Museums, Grantmakers in the Arts, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and the National Guild for Community Arts Education, among others. 

This past year saw the addition of three new team members, Jacqueline DuMont (Digital Media), Shawn Choi (Operations), and David Woehr (Programs). We are grateful to welcome them and their contributions to the organization. We were also fortunate to enjoy some recognition from the professional teaching artist community and took part in meaningful professional development. Finally, our extended team are people we cannot do without. They are involved across projects and disciplines, and they bring valuable expertise to our efforts.