Creative Aging in Wyoming Public Libraries

Project Components & Partners

Working in partnership with Lifetime Arts, the Wyoming State Library and Wyoming Arts Council will help establish a critical mass of public libraries known as “community anchors” for positive and creative aging.

Creative Aging in Wyoming Public Libraries will implement a proven approach to older adult services and contribute to a statewide shift that places participatory arts at the core of senior programming. Wyoming has a total of 23 regional systems that support a total of 23 county libraries throughout the State. These regional systems will serve as the main conduit for the training and as the program hosts.

Read Press Release

Read our blog post, “Wyoming State Agencies Partner with Lifetime Arts to Provide Accessible Creative Aging Programs in Rural Communities,” to learn more about this initiative and its impact in Wyoming public library systems and older adult communities.

Lifetime Arts trained* cohorts of library programmers and their community teaching artist partners, in the delivery of innovative, direct creative aging programming for older adults (online and in-person). Coaching and implementation support is also provided.

*Training was delivered remotely.

What Wyoming Teaching Artists Had to Say About the Training

“The facilitators and participants were all so passionate about their art forms, and about the benefit that creative experiential activities can be. It was an upbeat, well-run training, with just a nice balance of presentation and discussion. It was a terrific experience and an inspiring way to spend a few hours each day.”

– Deborah Kassner, Music & Theater Educator

“I absolutely loved connecting with other teaching artists from around the state! The trainers were knowledgeable and approachable. By the end I was incredibly inspired and a little sad that it was over!”

– Alyss Smith, Mixed Media Artist

These quotes were pulled from an interview published in the Spring 2021 issue of Artscapes by the Wyoming Arts Council. You can read the full interview with Deborah and Alyss on pages 24-25.

Informational Webinar

Black and white graphic of an information bubble.On February 3, Lifetime Arts hosted an informational webinar for Wyoming-based library staff and teaching artists. This webinar was not a prerequisite for the training, but prospective participants were highly encouraged to attend. A recording of the webinar is available to watch in the link below. 

WATCH INFO WEBINAR

Training Dates & Details

Lifetime Arts delivered training for library programmers over three two-hour Zoom sessions from March 1-3, and for teaching artists from March 8-10. Please find complete training details below.

Training for Library Programmers 

This 6-hour training took library programmers through the Lifetime Arts Creative Aging Foundations course. Together, we explored current research on arts and aging; inherent biases about aging; best practices in creative aging programming; adult learning; developing responsive programming that is inclusive, representative, and equitable; the importance of community partnerships; and how to plan, implement, and sustain successful in-person and remote programming.

Registration Details:

The training was offered across three consecutive days beginning Monday, March 1:

  • Morning Session: 9am-11am MT
  • Afternoon Session: 12pm-2pm MT

Teaching Artists Training

In addition to covering Lifetime Arts’ Creative Aging Foundations course material, this 6-hour training also examined and demonstrated andragogical approaches to the development of sequential, skill-building, socially supportive instruction. Teaching artists gained an understanding of best practices in both in-person and remote program delivery.

Registration Details:

The training was offered across three consecutive days beginning Monday, March 8:

  • Morning Session: 9am-11am MT
  • Evening Session: 5pm-7pm MT

Made Possible By

Creative Aging in Wyoming Public Libraries was made possible through the generous support from the May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust and the Wyoming Community Foundation.