Creative Aging in Action: Strategies for Engaging Older Adults Through the Arts
As the population of older adults continues to grow, arts organizations have a powerful opportunity to serve this community through meaningful creative engagement. Creative aging programs not only enrich the lives of older adults but also generate measurable social impact for communities, including improved mental health, reduced isolation, and stronger
intergenerational connections. This interactive 60-minute workshop introduces arts organizations to the concept and value of creative aging programming and provides research-based insights into its benefits through the experience of Artworks Now. Art Works Now (AWN) is a Hyattsville, Maryland based, 501 C3 non-profit organization that serves students of all ages and abilities and provides them with age-appropriate, high-quality arts learning experiences catered to their interests and needs. AWN provides students with the tools, instruction and a great studio space to stimulate creative exploration alongside a community of their peers.
Through the Lifetime Arts organization (a national leader in arts and aging/best practices for creative aging programs) and the National Guild for Community Arts Education, Art Works Now learned best practices for serving students who are 55 years of age and better. Based on this learning, AWN developed the Creative Aging Program (CAP), a free weekly sequential arts program designed to to serve older adults (55+) seeking arts learning that connects them to a creative network of peers, Participants will explore strategies for designing and implementing arts programming that engages older adults while strengthening organizational relevance and community impact. Through research findings, and guided exercises, participants will leave with practical tools to begin developing a creative aging strategy tailored to their organization.
As the population of older adults continues to grow, arts organizations have a powerful opportunity to serve this community through meaningful creative engagement. Creative aging programs not only enrich the lives of older adults but also generate measurable social impact for communities, including improved mental health, reduced isolation, and stronger Sharon J. Burton
Sharon J. Burton has served as a visual artist, poet, teaching artist and creativity coach for 20 years in the DC, Maryland and Virginia areas. She is the author of Creative Sparks: 21 Affirmations and Inspiration for Creativity at Midlife (2024) which focuses on sharing the benefits of engaging in creative pursuits for adults 50 and over. She is a certified creativity coach, SoulCollage® facilitator and has served as a teaching artist with Art Works Now for three years, in the Creative Aging Program. Sharon is a member of the Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic (TAMA) and the National Guild for Community Art Education (currently serving as the Co-Chair of the Creative Aging Unity Network). As an artist she is an active participant of Tribe 55+, a Baltimore-based arts collective for African American women over 55 and the Women’s Caucus for Art. Sharon has a visual art studio and creativity coaching practice based in Prince George’s County, Maryland where she has lived for over 20 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from St. Paul’s College and a Master of Public Administration from Clark Atlanta University. Learn more about her art at http://sjbcreativeart.com and her teaching /creativity coaching practice at http://sparkyourcreative.com
Aimee Olivo
Aimee Olivo, a true believer in the power of the arts to transform lives, is incredibly proud to serve as Art Works Now’s second executive director. She is a passionate community builder and advocate for equity and social justice.
Prior to joining Art Works Now, Aimee served as the Chief of Staff for Prince George’s County Council Member Dannielle Glaros (D-District 3). Aimee is most proud of her work to promote economic development, support non-profit organizations, improve the environment, and promote community in that role. Previously she spent nearly two decades working as a professional fundraiser.
Aimee has held numerous volunteer leadership roles advocating for educational equity and student success. She was appointed by Governor Martin O’Malley to serve on the Board of Trustees for Prince George’s Community College in 2010 and continued in that role through February 2022. She served as a member and chair of the Prince George’s County Commission for Education Excellence under County Executive Rushern Baker.
In 2012, Aimee was recognized by the Prince George’s County Social Innovation Fund as a member of their inaugural “Prince George’s 40 Under Forty” cohort. She graduated Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Trinity College (now Trinity Washington University), in Washington, D.C., with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and earned her Master’s in Business Administration from Marymount University in Arlington, VA.
Learn more about Aimee’s work and Art Works Now at www.artsworknow.org