American Alliance of Museums Reinforces Creative Aging Arts Education Model at Annual Conference

Julie Kline, Lifetime Arts' Director of Education and Training, speaking at the AAM Annual Meeting in Boston 2022. Credit AAM

“I am fascinated by the necessary intersectionality of creative aging programs, and by how we can continue to ask in our program development the question that Toya [Northington] articulated, ‘Who is  not at the table?’ Creative aging programs aim to be inclusive, and access should be equitable — and we know this is a continuous process of engaging with communities and making programs responsive to their interests and needs.”

— Julie Kline, Director of Education and Training

At the American Alliance of Museums' Annual Meeting & Museum Expo in Boston, Massachusetts this past May, Lifetime Arts joined museum educators and programmers from across the U.S. in exploring and addressing the issues, challenges, and opportunities that museums are facing today. We participated in a panel discussion and led an introductory workshop. Panel highlights included:

• Lisa Ortega-Pol, MFA Educadora de Museo at Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte in San Juan, PR discussed the social and mental benefits that remote programming had on older adults at Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte during the initial pivot to online learning;
• Sara Lowenburg, Manager of Education at Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans, LA discussed how the Louisiana State Museum adapted their program plans to include artforms that were deeply entrenched in the culture and history of New Orleans; and
• Toya Northington, MSSW, Interim Co-Director of Education and Community Engagement Strategist at Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY. discussed the myriad of “isms” (ageism, racism, and ableism) that are part of the history of institutions and the positive results of offering inclusive programs with culturally diverse curriculum at the Speed Art Museum. (Listen to Toya’s discussion below.)

For more information about the printmaking program mentioned in this recording and others offered in museums across the country, visit, "Creative Aging Programs Centered in Black Cultures Enrich Connection & Community in Museums Across the U.S."

Creative Aging: Paving the Way for Lifelong Learning Workshop

“This was the first in-person workshop for me in over 2 years. It was wonderful to have face-to-face conversations and give and take. The museum attendees were super engaged, participated enthusiastically in all the explorations, and had thoughtful and serious questions and ideas about how creative aging would work in their museums.”

— Maura O’Malley, Lifetime Arts CEO/Co-Founder

Maura O’Malley (Lifetime Arts CEO/Co-Founder), Julie Kline (Director of Education and Training), and Antonia Perez (Lifetime Arts Trainer) delivered, “Creative Aging: Paving the Way for Lifelong Learning." During the session, we introduced museum leaders and educators to the creative aging arts education program model, and explored ageism and how it impacts their programming strategies. Antonia demonstrated ways in which teaching artists can best integrate social engagement into their lesson plans.