In September, several events in Washington, D.C. focused on the advancement of research in arts and aging. The field is ever-growing.
The National Academy of Sciences and a consortium composed of the Committee on National Statistics, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Institutes of Health hosted a workshop entitled “Workshop on Research Gaps and Opportunities for Exploring the Relationship between the Arts and Health and Well-Being in Older Adults“. The purpose was to identify research gaps and opportunities for exploring the relationships of arts participation and creativity to physical health and psychological well-being in older adults. It provided a critique of the field, including challenges in undertaking research capacity-building; and offered guidance for the design of future studies and research funding opportunities.
A video and transcript of the workshop will be posted at www.arts.gov
The following week, Congressman Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico hosted “Dementia Arts on Capitol Hill”, a briefing on the use of arts in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.
Panelists included: Dr. Anne Basting, Executive Director, Center on Age & Community and founder, Timeslips: Maria Genne, founder, Kairos Dance; Margery Pabst, Executive Director, Pabst Charitable Foundation for the Arts and author of Enrich Your Caregiving Journey; Dr. Richard Taylor, a leading advocate for people living with cognitive impairment and Dr. Linda Levine Madori, founder, Therapeutic Thematic Arts Programming for Older Adults – TTAP Method.
Poet Stuart Hall from Santa Fe, New Mexico shared several poems, including this one titled “Confetti”:
My mind’s not at all a blank slate.
Though I cannot keep track of the date
Or the day of the week.
And facts play hide-and-seek,
For my mind to be blank would be great.
Instead it is wired like spaghetti;
it conflates the important and petty;
The connections of all things
Are like tangles of strings
Or like celebratory confetti.
We can’t wait to see what new research is inspired by these conversations.