On Saturday, February 20, 2016, the Arizona Commission on the Arts visited Tucson for an experiential Creative Aging workshop. Guest artists, Maria Genné and Jane Tygesson shared some of the latest research in Creative Aging and lead an interactive exploration of the different approaches used across the continuum of care.

 

Introduction and Approaches to Creative Aging

With guest artists Maria Genné and Jane Tygesson

Saturday
Feb 20, 2016
9:30 am – 12:30 pm

Tucson Museum of Art, Education Center Auditorium 
140 N Main Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85701

Cost: $5

Join us in Tucson for this experiential workshop to learn more about Creative Aging and how arts engagement benefits older adults. Guest artists, Maria Genné and Jane Tygesson will share some of the latest research in Creative Aging and lead an interactive exploration of the different approaches used across the continuum of care. The workshop will also introduce possibilities for participatory art making in dance, music, visual arts, poetry and story, and participants will leave with concrete tools and ideas to use in their own programs and work.

Who should attend? Anyone interested in the vital relationship between the arts and quality of life for older adults, including aging or healthcare service organization staff, caregivers, volunteers, teaching artists, and arts organizations.

Maria Genné, MEd, Founder and Director of Kairos Alive!, is a dancer, choreographer and educator, recognized as a pioneering leader in the intergenerational interactive participatory performing arts, and arts and health fields. Her national award winning work to create interactive dance, music and story programs for intergenerational participants is designed to tap into the artistry and creativity of older adults and invite them to be central collaborators in the artistic process of dance, music and storytelling. Her 65+ choreography works are recognized for their ability to highlight the beauty of human experience through movement and story. In 2001, Maria developed the award winning program, The Dancing Heart™, featured in the PBS documentary, Arts and the Mind. This research based dance, music and story theater program is designed to tap into the artistry and creativity of older adults and invite them to be collaborators in the artistic process of dance, music and storytelling as well as create measurable health benefits for participants, and cost of care savings for providers. Other Kairos Alive! Choreography of Care™ innovations include the Intergenerational Dance Hall™ – a revival of the dance hall as the community intersection of artistic, physical and social involvement – designed for all ages (5-95) and abilities, with elders at the center, and Moving Well™ training in our methods.

Jane Tygesson is the Founder of Opening Doors and author of the manual Opening Doors to Memory & Imagination to help museums create programs that engage the senses and spark conversation for people with memory loss. She co-founded the “Discover Your Story” program at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) in 2008, which has brought more than 3,000 adults in the early and middle stages of Alzheimer’s into the museum with their families, friends, and care partners for interactive tours. Jane has spoken widely at conferences on the topic of arts and memory loss, including presentations at the National Art Education Association Conference, the National Docent Symposium, and the Association of Midwest Museums. Jane serves on the advisory boards for ArtSage and the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project MN, and served on the Early Stage Advisory Board for the Alzheimer’s Association Minnesota-North Dakota. In recent years, Jane has broadened her expertise beyond museum work to also include working with communities on how they can integrate the arts with an aging population, and consulting with individual arts organizations and senior living residences on how to create arts programming for seniors.

Photos (from left to right): photo courtesy of The Drawing Studio (Tucson); Arlene Lopez of South Tucson performs in Safos Dance Theatre’s “Las Comadres”, photo by Dominic AZ Bonuccelli, courtesy of Safos Dance Theatre; photo courtesy Musical Instrument Museum.