The United States is undergoing a major demographic shift, as older adults become a larger portion of the population. As people live longer and healthier lives, the perception of old age is changing, as are the capabilities, activities, and expectations of older adults. In preparation for addressing these changes this book looks at how the federal government can leverage the arts to foster healthy aging and inclusive design for this growing population. The book features recommendations from the May 2015 Summit on Creativity and Aging in America. It also presents a summary of a National Academies Workshop, Research Gaps and Opportunities for Exploring the Relationship of the Arts to Health and Well-Being in Older Adults.

This volume explores the strengths and opportunities of old age as these are manifested by the accomplishments of aging artists, late artistic works, and elderly arts audiences. It critically examines the psychology of creativity, cognitive development, and gerontology, and will be of interest to a wide range of professionals and students in these fields.

Arts in Healthy Aging examines public policies and professional practices that effectively use the arts to support health and well-being outcomes in older adults. It offers a comprehensive study of why and how purposefully-designed programs that engage the visual, performing, and literary arts can support the health and well-being of older adults. The authors argue that it is the right time for the American arts and aging movement to restructure itself as a national network and advocacy coalition across four domains: the arts, health, aging, and lifelong learning. Building on decades of published research, government documents, and program models, this scholarly volume provides historical perspectives, new theoretical approaches, analytical models, resources for researchers and practitioners, and pathways forward for advancing the interdisciplinary arts in healthy aging field of scholarship and practice. Although focused on the United States, the discussion of policies and practices is relevant and applicable to other countries as appropriate to their specific contexts.

In the past century, average life expectancies have nearly doubled, and today, for the first time in human history, many people have a realistic chance of living to eighty or beyond. As life expectancy increases, Americans need accurate, scientifically grounded information so that they can take full responsibility for their own later years. In The Art and Science of Aging Well, Mark E. Williams, M.D., discusses the remarkable advances that medical science has made in the field of aging and the steps that people may take to enhance their lives as they age. Through his own observations and by use of the most current medical research, Williams offers practical advice to help aging readers and those who care for them enjoy personal growth and approach aging with optimism and even joy. The Art and Science of Aging Well gives a realistic portrait of how aging occurs and provides important advice for self-improvement and philosophical, spiritual, and conscious evolution. Williams argues that we have considerable choice in determining the quality of our own old age. Refuting the perspective of aging that insists that personal, social, economic, and health care declines are persistent and inevitable, he takes a more holistic approach, revealing the multiple facets of old age. Williams provides the resources for a happy and productive later life.

The dry, wrinkled skin, crow's feet and rheumy eyes of old women can be seen universally; yet the actual images and their meaning differ widely, and the very absence of these old women in certain settings also reveals both a discomfort with the aged and an ease in their invisibility. This is true in writing about art and often in the art itself. The physical markers of aging, even implications of death or the nearness of death, make many of these images of old women, haunting; in the 16th and 17th centuries, they become emblems of anger and avarice, though portraits of known elderly women are often created with a sense of awe, and in some cases, authority. This book provides a frank examination of old women, from medieval “old wives” to contemporary reimaginations of shamans and witches and empowering self-portraits. Works from medieval Europe to colonial-time Polynesia, present West Africa, Japan, and the Americas, in a multiplicity of media are explored. These studies of varied representations of “old women” offer fresh perspectives and a dialogue about society's values and preconceptions regarding the “golden years” in different times and cultures. Images of old women may be the very opposite of what one considers the ideal, but this discussion makes these often overlooked images seem fresh and highlights their many positive associations.

A couple, both artists, take a penetrating look at aging through a series of projects that confront their fear and curiosity about growing old. They explore physical changes, sensuality and relationships, aging parents, spirituality and death. Drawing on their personal experiences and the wisdom of older mentors, they conclude that their elder years can be a time of ripening and harvest rather than stagnation and despair. The profusely illustrated book contains a wealth of inspiration, especially for those about to enter old age.