New Resource!
Creativity Matters: Arts and Aging in America
a monograph published with Americans for the Arts
 Arts and creativity programs provided by and for older adults are fast becoming accepted for their health, morale, and social benefit. This Monograph is intended to begin dialogue with the arts field about such programs by providing basic information on current trends and opportunities to integrate creativity and aging.
Download the PDF
Hard copies available through Americans for the Arts
Special Membership Offer!
In honor of our first anniversary in Washington, DC and our affiliation with the George Washington University, we're offering free membership to individuals, students and seniors! With membership to the NCCA, stay up on the latest developments in creativity and aging through our monthly email newsletter; submit announcements and opportunities for inclusion on our website; learn first about special opportunities; and receive a 10% discount on our products and services. And, we will be developing News Briefs with headlines and stories of interest to keep you posted on the arts and aging. Become a member today!
We will be launching new organizational member benefits this fall -- so stay posted. Contact us if you're interested in organizational membership.
MoMA Alzheimer's Project Guide for Museums now available!
The Museum of Modern Art is one of the first museums in the country to offer programs to make its collection and special exhibitions accessible to people with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers. In 2006, the Museum launched Meet Me at MoMA, an educational program specifically designed for people with Alzheimer's disease. Now MoMA has published a guide to provide museum professionals with methods for making art accessible to individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Download the guide and find out more about Meet Me at MoMA.
 Creativity Matters: The Arts and Aging Toolkit
This first of its kind resource is now available! Published jointly by the National Center for Creative Aging (NCCA), the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), this guide will prove invaluable to arts, healthcare and aging services organizations. The Toolkit is made possible by the generous support from the MetLife Foundation, NAMM: The International Music Products Association, the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, and Roche. Find out more about how to order a copy or, view the digital version of this guide online. Read the fact sheet on the publication.
Plus: Look out for the Spanish-language edition of Creativity Matters, available later this month! And, a Spanish version of the online Toolkit will launch in July.
 Above Ground: Information on Artists III: Special Focus on New York City Aging Artists
A study of 213 visual artists aged 62-97 was published in December, 2007. The study, conducted by Joan Jeffri and Douglas Heckathorn, found that most of the artists “demonstrated personal growth, creativity, self-efficacy, autonomy, independence, effective coping strategies…and also maintained extensive social networks.” To read the full article in Inside and to download a copy of the study go to www.tc.columbia.edu/rcac.
Keeping Your Brain Fit
US News and World Report
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REGISTER NOW!
December 9-10, 2008
NCCA presents
Metlife Foundation
Creativity Matters: Lifelong Learning through the Arts Symposium
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
Miami, FL
Join the National Center for Creative Aging for the first Metlife Foundation Creativity Matters Symposium in Miami, FL. The symposium will highlight Gene Cohen, MD, PhD, who will discuss the findings of his study "The Impact of Professionally Conducted Cultural Programs on the Physical Health, Mental Health, and Social Functioning of Older Adults" as well as Susan Perlstein, MSW, who will discuss the value of programs for older adults across the country.
Find out more...
SPECIAL EVENT!
Resilent Aging for Extraordinary Times
November 23-25, 2008
The National Center for Creative Aging in Partnership with The Washington National Cathedral and The Gerontological Society of America present a series of special events on Aging, Spirituality and Creativity. All events at the Washington National Cathedral.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2008
10:10 AM in the Cathedral Nave
Creative Aging: The Next Frontier
with Gene Cohen, MD, PhD, Director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities, George Washington University
Registration not required. Live video streamed and on demand.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2008
11:30 AM - 6:30 PM
Aging, Spirituality and the Visual Arts: A Pilgrimage at the Washington Cathedral
part of the Gerontological Society of America 61st Annual Scientific Meeting
open only to conference participants
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2008
at 6:00 PM - Come Walk the Labyrinth in the Nave of the Cathedral!
at 7:30 PM
Cathedral Crossroads Program
Aging, Spirituality and Creativity
with The Reverend Dr. Margee Adams Iddings
Find out full program information...
By Beth Baker
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, March 11, 2008; Page HE01
In the Greenbelt Community Center, 25 elders sit in a circle, watching professional storyteller Candace Wolf. She moves around the circle, smiling, giving someone's shoulder a gentle squeeze, making eye contact. The artist, on the faculty of the nonprofit Bethesda-based Arts for the Aging (AFTA), enlists the group's help in creating a story, based on a silly photo she has passed around of a stocky older couple arm-wrestling...Before long, a narrative has been spun, with threads offered by participants...
Read the full article recently featured in The Washington Post that highlights the NCCA, our new Toolkit, and our work to promote creativity among older adults.
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Vintage Voices: The New Senior Moment
by Gene Cohen, MD, PhD
in Aging Well Magazine
In the Winter 2008 issue of Aging Well, Gene Cohen illuminates the common mis-informed concept of a "senior moment" -- what in most of the 20th century explained away momentary lapses in memory. But, we now know that we have the capacity to continue new brain cells right until the end of life. Instead, aging might bring with it a new psychological development in older age, where we can feel liberated and more creative. It's as if an inner voice begins to say "If not now, when? Why not?," Cohen explains. Read the full article to learn more.
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The National Center for Creative Aging
(NCCA) is dedicated to fostering an understanding of the vital
relationship between creative expression and the quality of
life of older people. Creative expression is important for
older people of all cultures and ethnic backgrounds,
regardless of economic status, age, or level of physical,
emotional, or cognitive functioning. 