About this Session
A three-part series of “Real Talk Salons” regarding Creative Aging practices in community arts education took place throughout the three weeks of the Groundwork: Healing within Community Arts Education (“Groundwork”) program in the fall of 2021. In response to the pandemic, the overarching themes of Groundwork sessions touched on healing. This Real Talk Salon, entitled “Ageism: The Last ‘Acceptable’ Prejudice”, brought together the following community practitioners in conversation with one another:
Moderator:
- Heather Ikemire (Deputy Director of Learning and Engagement, National Guild)
Speakers:
Description: By 2035, there will be more Americans over the age of 65 than under the age of 18 for the first time in US history. Yet the majority of community arts education programs available in our communities are for people under the age of 18. Persistent ageism that sidelines and silences older adults is one of the biggest barriers to creative aging programs, partnerships, and funding—and often goes unaddressed. Join this intimate conversation between teaching artists, administrators, and older adults from Fleisher Art Memorial and Dance & Bmore. Together, we will reflect on our own prejudices and beliefs about age and aging and the influence of different cultural values and histories on these aging attitudes; and talk openly about ways we are undoing ageism in ourselves and our creative aging work.
This session took part the first week of the program, on October 19, 2021, with American Sign Language interpretation provided by Pro Bono ASL.
About the Groundwork Program
Groundwork was a 3-week virtual gathering that centered healing in the context of community arts education, as a pathway towards personal, interpersonal, and systemic change, informed by the idea that we must get right with ourselves before we can work with each other to reimagine and create a more just future. To that end, Groundwork’s themes unfolded each week as: Healing for Self (Week 1), Healing for Collective (Week 2), and Healing for Movement Building (Week 3).
For more information about the gathering, please visit the program details, here.
This program was made possible through generous support from Aroha Philanthropies, The Music Man Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.