Saturday 19^th June (New York):

Weather – too hot!

I have hugely enjoyed my time in the ‘Big Apple’, I have learned a great deal. I have summarised the meetings which I have had with the three organisations which I have met below:

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) – The MoMA Alzheimer’s Project:

On Wednesday afternoon (16th June), I met with Laurel Humble in the MOMA sculpture garden, Laurel coordinates this project.

MoMA’s programs in art and dementia are delivered via their education access and community programmes and as such are designed to open up the MoMA collection to Alzheimer’s / dementia sufferers and their care-givers. Roughly speaking programs target two separate cohorts:

· People with Alzheimer’s / dementia living at home (plus their care-givers)

· People with Alzheimer’s / dementia living in care settings

The majority of work undertaken is discussion-based and concentrates on presenting selected works through condition-aware methodologies, presentations and discussions. Some work is also carried out to support people in art-making sessions. All programmes are currently finished until September.

At project commencement in January 2006, tours initially involved about 30 people per month, now about 100 people per month are involved.

A key element of the project has been training for MOMA staff – MOMA worked with a local hospital and the local Alzheimer’s Association to ensure that staff were trained appropriately and that tours and communication were appropriate.

In 2007 the Museum was given a grant from Metlife Foundation who fund many arts and older people projects over here in US to create The MoMA Alzheimer’s Project. The project has allowed the program to be evaluated and recorded in a fantastic report (also available at:http://www.moma.org/meetme/index) which I have not yet had chance to analyse in any detail. MoMA have also focussed on supporting other museums and galleries to develop similar programmes and their website supports this aim also.

Elders Share The Arts (Brooklyn):

I met with Executive Director, Jennie Smith-Peers on Thursday afternoon (17th June). Elders Share The Arts (ESTA) currently have three core programmes -

· Arts programming for older adults (within both community and healthcare settings)

· Intergenerational programming

· Training for teaching artists and related staff

Both Arts Programming and Intergenerational Programming fall within what ESTA refers to as its Legacy Art Works Umbrella.

Programming –

Jennie highlighted the ‘Pearls of Wisdom’ project whereby older story-tellers (with both paid and unpaid experience) are trained to work in a variety of settings and have performed at both local, national and international venues (including the UN!). All performers are paid for their work and have access to continual professional development, training and co-support. The ‘Pearls’ are an ensemble group but mainly perform separately from one another (depending on the event). The background of each ‘Pearl’ varies greatly and the group includes an ex ‘sharecropper’, a Civil-Rights activist, an Italian immigrant for example, therefore their personal histories are core to their stories and their performances.

Intergenerational Work –

Intergenerational programmes are focussed on developing intergenerational community relationships, common understanding, eradicating suspicion distrust and ageism within the local areas in which ESTA are located. Jennie informed me that, as their intergenerational work has now taken place over at least 15 years, changes in community relationships are palpable with many younger people having been involved in several projects during their school-age years which has then influenced their outlook towards older people, their community relationships and in some cases their choice of career. Older people too, have become less fearful and more trusting in their outlook – the key point here is that this shift in community cohesion has taken a generation to become cemented within the local area... (funders take note). Most importantly, the intergenerational programmes have included the same teaching artists over that period – crucial for continuity. Intergenerational programmes have taken place in a variety of settings – both community and healthcare settings.

Jennie informed me during our discussion about what in the US are known as ‘NORCs’ – Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities. These develop (particularly within apartment-block accommodation in urban areas) when residents grow older within the neighbourhood in which they have always lived and do not wish to move somewhere else. Once a certain percentage of retired occupancy has been achieved within a particular block, the block is designated as a NORC with particular funding streams and government support triggered specifically to benefit retired residents. (I need to investigate this further). ESTA carry out a lot of their intergenerational work within ‘NORC’ settings.

Training –

All ESTA teaching artists receive specialist training and professional development in working with older people (accreditation is being developed as is condition-specific training). ESTA also carry out professional development training with medical and care staff to help them to understand and support the development of creativity in later life. This programme will be expanded.

ESTA was one of the original pilot sites for the study into the impact of professionally delivered arts programmes on the health of older people by Gene Cohen – details of which can be found at: http://www.creativeaging.org/national-research-study/

Elders Share The Arts website: http://www.elderssharethearts.org/

Lifetime Arts -

Lifetime Arts are a recently formed ‘not-for-profit’ based in the Westchester County area but seeking to influence change at County, State and national levels through the delivery of successful local initiatives and partnerships that promote professional arts instruction for older adults.The organisation is run by Maura O’Malley and Ed Friedman who I met over dinner on Friday 18th June.

Direct programming has concentrated thus far on the development of arts education partnerships with the local public library infrastructure, a development which has led to each of the 38 libraries in the Westchester County area invited to apply for grants to support sequential arts instruction in any discipline for older adults as well as hosting its own celebratory event or exhibition at project-close. Maura and Ed see public libraries as an increasingly important free and ‘age-neutral’ community resource and they hope to be able to develop similar partnerships within other areas.

Lifetime Arts are also in the process of developing a database of local teaching artists in order to support the brokerage of artists when required and plan to develop extensive professional development and training programmes in due course. Their upcoming projects include creating a plan for a continuing care facility which would create arts programs and integrate the surrounding community into the facility’s activities.

Maura and Ed have also worked at both a State and County level to influence decision-making and policy development, particularly when trying to ensure that working relationships exist between agencies which may not currently be working together.

Lifetime Arts website: http://www.lifetimearts.org/