Creative Aging: Healing Through Art

What is creative aging?

In general, creative aging emphasizes the importance of nurturing creativity in older adults through meaningful engagement with the arts to produce a higher quality of life. In particular, creative aging programs, such as BREAM classes, aim to promote social engagement and creative expression in older individuals to aid in healthy aging. 

Creative Aging Programs: Science-Backed

A 2001 multisite national study conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in partnership with Dr. Gene D. Cohen of The George Washington University examined the impact of professionally-led cultural programs on the health and wellness of older individuals. 

The study consisted of a total of 300 participants, ages ranging from 65-103 with a median age of 80, that were split into a control group (150 subjects), and an intervention group (150 subjects) that participated in weekly lessons taught by professional artists in a range of disciplines (painting, pottery, dance, music, poetry, drama, material culture, and oral histories in a creative context). 

Statistically significant results of the study found that the intervention group, or subjects that had participated in the weekly art programs had better overall health, improved on the depression assessment, fewer doctor visits, less medication usage, and increased activities and social engagement. 

Another 2016 study conducted by Irene A. Gutheil and Janna C. Heyman examined the effects of professionally facilitated art lessons on older individuals, and found that an arts-education approach provided both personal and interpersonal benefits to older adults. 

Regarding personal changes, many participants found the workshops successful in providing a safe place to explore new things, and the overall experience cathartic and healing (Gutheil). There was also a shared feeling of renewal, the discovery and rediscovery of self, as well as a general feeling of enjoyment and fun. Participants also spoke highly of the interpersonal benefits of the experience, as it catalyzed new friendships and provided them with a learning community. 

Benefits to Creative Aging + an Art-based Education

An issue published for Americans for the Arts holds that creativity “has the potential to offset the complications of aging. Engaging in artistic activities is an excellent, effective way to nurture the creativity in everyone, especially those rich in life experiences” (Hanna 3). 

Art is transformative. Inherent in its nature, art encourages us to see things from a different perspective, to interpret things in novel ways; when we explore new ways to paint, draw, or weave language, we are exploring new ideas. It is through an art-based approach to caregiving that allows “older adults themselves to achieve personal fulfillment, a sense of meaning, new competencies to cope with daily challenges, new social relationships, and opportunities for maintaining and improving health” (Klimczuk). 

Additional Resources

Find additional resources highlighting the benefits of art education for older adults here: https://creativeagingresource.org/ 

A creative aging newsletter to follow: https://creativeagingnews.substack.com/p/creative-aging-programming-for-older?fbclid=IwAR2mkM0cV8NTN4Dj2_xs1g74NHBbY0AVVXDHWR1XM2jVCIVR7d28egtYM24 

Works Cited

Gene D. Cohen, MD, PhD, Susan Perlstein, MSW, Jeff Chapline, MFA, Jeanne Kelly, MM, Kimberly M. Firth, PhD, Samuel Simmens, PhD, The Impact of Professionally Conducted Cultural Programs on the Physical Health, Mental Health, and Social Functioning of Older Adults, The Gerontologist, Volume 46, Issue 6, December 2006, Pages 726–734, https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/46.6.726 

Irene A. Gutheil & Janna C. Heyman (2016) Older Adults and Creative Arts: Personal and Interpersonal Change, Activities, Adaptation & Aging, 40:3, 169-179, DOI: 10.1080/01924788.2016.1194030

Hanna, Gay, and Susan Perlstein. "Creativity matters: Arts and aging in America." The Monograph (2008): 1-15.

Klimczuk, Andrzej. "Creative Aging: Drawing on the Arts to Enhance Healthy Aging." Encyclopedia of Geropsychology, Springer Singapore, Singapore 2016 (2016): 608-612.