Pennsylvania Council on the Arts launches online academy
As the days grow cooler and porch sitting gives way to blanket snuggling, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts invites teaching artists and older adults to get creative online.
On Monday, the PCA launched the Academy for Creative Aging, a free online platform that offers on-demand video lessons for older adults and a certificate of completion for artists who teach.
The academy’s Lessons on Demand provides individuals and groups access to the PCA’s video catalogue, which includes lessons on still life portraiture and Indian classical dance.
Older adults who engage in creative activities are, on average, less lonely and isolated than their peers, and the academy aims to combat feelings of social isolation in the state’s aging population through its collection of entertaining and informative art lessons.
“For years, we have used the arts as a way to engage older adults socially and recreationally, knowing we were combating social isolation, teaching lifelong learners new mediums of self-expression, and expanding our evidence practices intentionally to improve the health outcomes of those we are serving,” said Jason Kavulich, director of the Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging, in a news release.
“This platform not only provides all of us with a consistent catalog of diverse and exciting online programming, but it also gives us the tools necessary to train and support our local professional artists working with Area Agencies on Aging to design evidence-informed programs to offer to the communities we are serving.”
Artists who teach older adults may earn credentials and deepen their understanding of art education for aging populations through the academy’s free professional development track.
The professional development track is a module-based certification course that allows teaching artists to earn credentials while learning what their older students want and need in creative environments.
The curriculum was developed by the PCA, guided by industry experts and rooted in research. The academy’s professional track is self-guided.
The Academy of Creative Aging connects artists and older adults with resources necessary for better intergenerational connection and a more fulfilling life.
For more on the academy, visit https://www.academyforcreativeaging.org/.