Artful Aging Classes focus on creative aging arts education for older adults, where the goals are instructional and the programming is sequential. (Sequential programming means that skills are learned over time and each skill builds on the other.) Artful Aging Classes are led by a professional art instructor.

Artful Aging Classes are Based on the Creative Aging Arts Education Model (CAAEM), which has proven to have the most positive impact on older adults - and has much more long-lasting long-term benefits to their social, emotional health and well-being - is about the mastery of skills, along with the social engagement opportunities to build community. Mastery of skills cannot happen in an atmosphere where students drop in. New and stronger social connections are built when the same students come back week after week, and begin to build a micro-community through the natural evolution of the course.

Artful Aging Classes vs Art Therapy

Arts education goals are student-centered, include sequential sessions and active participation, focus on skill-building, and are built on a scaffolded curriculum of at least 8 weekly sessions of 90 minutes each. Sometimes the results may be emotionally, socially, and physically beneficial to the participants, but the goals remain instructional and are not a substitute for therapy.

Artful Aging Classes vs Drop-in Classes

Traditionally, senior programming is more of the drop-in kind, where people can just drop in at any point during an arts and crafts activity and work on whatever project is being introduced that day. Often, an assortment of art forms is introduced. Skills are not generally built from week to week, and while skills may be introduced, they’re not explored deeply. (You may also see the same type of drop-in option with sing-alongs or exercise and yoga classes.)

Best Practices of CAAEM

• Taught by a professional teaching artist skilled in developing a sequential arts curriculum (a paid professional arts educator, not a volunteer.)

• Although schedules can be flexed to suit certain organizational parameters, generally there should be at least eight 8 sequential weekly sessions of 60-90 minutes each.

• The classes should meet at the same time in the same place every week.

• Registration is required in creative aging arts education classes to build buy-in and commitment from the participants to return from week to week.

Download the Artful Aging Classes brochure here.

Interested in Artful Aging Classes? Please contact Sharon M. Dundee for more information.