According to the Delaware Division of Services for the Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities, Delaware’s elderly population will increase by more than 50% by 2030.
The Delaware Division of the Arts recognizes the rising need to provide beneficial arts programming to this growing population.
The Division’s goal is to improve the health and well-being of people across the state by providing meaningful arts experiences such as creative aging programs. Now is a critical time to support programs such as these that can provide opportunities for artistic expression, social interaction, and enhanced mental and physical health.
Older adults continue to make substantial contributions in our communities as creative thinkers and creators.
Evidence demonstrates that participation in the arts improves the emotional well-being of older adults, supports good health, strengthens social bonds, and brings a heightened sense of purpose and joy to our lives. However, older adults are sometimes impacted by ageism, isolation and limited access to meaningful arts learning experiences.
The Delaware Division of the Arts, in partnership with the Delaware Division of Libraries, is working to address these gaps by piloting a program called Access Creative Aging.
More:Open Call: Christina Cultural Arts Center channels hope amid pandemic, social change
Delaware’s Access Creative Aging initiative is designed to serve older adults with quality, in-depth and interactive learning experiences in the visual and performing arts.
The initiative trains artists and Delaware public library staff to create, administer and present free programs at libraries across the state. Each program consists of a consecutive series of 6 to 8 weekly sessions led by a trained teaching artist and a culminating event that showcases the work of the participants. The artforms taught range from the visual arts like watercolor painting and pastels, to the performing arts like musical theater and jazz dancing.
A goal of the initiative is to reach diverse participants from underserved and rural communities by building on the outreach efforts and contacts already established by local public libraries.
More:Open Call: Feeling and imagination are the keys to renewal, escape from ‘goblin mode’
Because libraries are embedded in their communities and have a history of serving diverse populations, inclusive relationships have been established through the variety of services and programs they offer. The library, in effect, has become the community hub or center of activity in many locations, serving members with diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, ages and abilities.
The libraries determine the artistic disciplines of their programs based on their experience delivering community programs and the needs and interests of their constituents.
Issues of transportation, technology, delivery of supplies and materials, and language all are taken into consideration as each library develops the logistics of their programs. In addition, the teaching artists receive training from Lifetime Arts, a national leader in developing creative aging programs, that informs many of these processes for reaching diverse, older populations.
This project builds on a statewide creative aging conference that the Division of the Arts sponsored in December 2017 with the Modern Maturity Center and the Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities.
The funding for the initiative, provided by Aroha Philanthropies through the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, was awarded to the State of Delaware in a competitive process with other states. Each 6 to 8-week program costs approximately $2,000, which includes artist fees, materials and supplies, equipment, marketing and miscellaneous expenses.
When meaningful creative programming appears in places it has never been, the resulting benefits lead to increased demand. In fact, this program has been so popular that some of the libraries have had to create waiting lists of interested individuals.
The Division of the Arts hopes to continue making creative aging programming available past the pilot period. Eventually, the goal would be to see creative aging programming become a permanent component of the offerings at libraries in Delaware, led by a diverse and robust roster of trained teaching artists.
It is anticipated that the increase in the number of trained teaching artists and the promotion of their availability to deliver quality programs will lead to additional programs being offered at other types of venues, like senior centers, across the state.
More:Chicago chef Charlie Trotter was both loved and loathed
The Division of the Arts supports the nonprofit arts sector, artists, schools and the public by providing grants, programs and services to its constituents, as well as publicizing arts programs and events throughout Delaware.
The Division is advised by the Delaware State Arts Council, a 16-member body appointed by the Governor and representing communities throughout Delaware. You can find out more about the Division at arts.delaware.gov.
Jessica Ball is director of the Delaware Division of the Arts
Open Call is a weekly column that offers Delaware’s arts and culture organizations an opportunity to share their vision, challenges and upcoming programming with our readers. Groups interested in participating can email Features Editor Tammy Paolino at tpaolino@gannett.com
