ART CART: SAVING THE LEGACY, a model for positive aging and the productivity of professional artists

Abstract

ART CART: SAVING THE LEGACY is an intergenerational, interdisciplinary, interprofessional arts legacy project that connects aging professional artists (62+) with teams of advanced students to undertake the preparation and preservation of their creative work, offering a model of positive aging and an educational experience that will help shape the future of our American cultural legacy. Created from needs documented in research, the project launched in 2010–2011 in New York City, continued in 2012–2013 in New York City and Washington, DC, and will occur in six locations in 2015–2016. Twelve students and six professional visual artists participated; six faculty members in art education, arts administration, occupational therapy, social work and oral history conceptualized the curriculum and prepared the students. The evaluation comments by participating students, artists, their working partners and faculty members highlighted the value of the experiential, interdisciplinary learning environment, and the intergenerational interaction while simultaneously meeting individual program needs.

Keywords::

• positive aging
• older adults
• aging artists