Creative Aging Sparks Joy, Connection, Purpose This Is Getting Old Podcast with Melissa B PhD

If you wish to maintain health and longevity as you age, it may be helpful to include a special muscle group in your workout: your creative muscles. 
According to ongoing studies, creativity is essential for healthy aging. Engaging in creative activities like singing, theater, and visual art may help older people feel better. Further, creativity, linked to the personality characteristic of openness, can help people live longer.
In this  episode of This Is Getting Old: Moving Towards An Age-Friendly World, we're privileged to have Teresa  Bonner, the Executive Director of Aroha Philanthropies. Join us as we share meaningful conversations about creative aging and how it sparks joy, connection, and purpose among older adults. 
Part One Of 'Creative Aging Sparks Joy, Connection, Purpose' Aroha Philanthropies And Creative Aging “Creativity is hardly the exclusive province of youth. It can blossom at any age—and in fact, it can bloom with more depth and richness in older adults because their vast stores inform it of knowledge and experience.”
         —Dr. Gene Cohen, Geriatric Psychiatrist
These words of Dr. Gene Cohen, the founding Director of The George Washington University’s Center for Aging, Health and Humanities (for which I am the current Director), is Aroha Philanthropies' motivation in advocating creativity in aging. According to Dr. Cohen's landmark report, 85% of older adults are community-based, are aging well,  can learn, be creative, and be so much more.
With this visions in mind, Aroha Philanthropies are on a mission to expand creative aging programs nationally. They're engaged in funded training for organizations to learn how to make successful programs for older adults—to learn an art form over time and to get better and better as they learn from a teaching artist. 
Furthermore, Aroha Philanthropies has built national partnerships with the American Alliance of Museums, including botanical gardens, science museums, etc., to offer creative programs for older adults. This partnership has called on museums of all kinds around the country to develop creative aging programs and actively work against ageism in their institutions.
What's even more promising is that they've tapped on The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, where they've funded 36 state programs to develop and/or expand creative aging.
Aroha Philanthropies' efforts in evangelizing about the benefits of getting involved in the arts were not in vain. What they've learned from almost 2 000 participant survey responses is that after engaging in creative aging programs, older adults;
Developed relationships Learned various art forms Became cognitively and socially engaged Made meaningful social connections through art-making "Creative aging programs were highly effective at helping older adults grow artistically, mentally, and socially. 75% of 2,000 older adults reported that their mental engagement had increased because of taking creative classes."
Teresa  Bonner,  Executive Director of Aroha Philanthropies
How Do You Define Creative Aging? Creative aging is about learning an art form over time in a supportive environment. Such a supportive environment allows older adults to grow and become creative, more artistic and increase their social connections and social network. It is a broad topic that includes everything from programs designed to provide help for people suffering from diseases such as dementia to programs for caregivers who help with art therapy programs. 
The learning and connection, and relationship building happen through the work of the teaching artist. In part, these teaching artists know how to have conversations with people and generate conversations among them through the art form. 
That's the heart of successful creative aging programs. Older adults are learning over time from a teaching artist; they get better and make new friends. 
Examples of the classes offered in creative aging