Happy Valentine's Day + Our 2022 Theme
Dear Friends,
Happy Valentine’s Day! We love our artful community and want to express our appreciation for everyone who supports our cause and the incredible older adults and caregivers whom we are continuously privileged to work with. We hope you feel loved today and every day.
We’re also excited to celebrate Black History Month and thrilled to highlight the brilliant painter Alma Thomas, who was a beloved figure in the abstract expressionist movement and a trailblazer as a Black woman artist. Thomas created her most acclaimed work during the prolific years of her retirement after teaching art in the D.C. public school system for 38 years. Read the full newsletter here.
Photo by Stephanie Williams Images
We Reached Our Campaign Goal!
Dear Friends,
Thanks to your tremendous support, I am delighted to share that we raised $46,000 for our End-of-Year Campaign to not only meet but exceed our $40,000 goal! Thank you for your wonderful generosity – we are deeply touched and grateful for your loyalty to our cause.
2021 was a challenging, meaningful, and transformative year at Arts for the Aging. We are thankful for all the members of our community who have allowed us to share the life-enhancing power of the arts with so many. Despite the pandemic, we were able to grow as thought leaders in the fields of creative aging and arts in health; we established new partnerships; expanded virtual and safe in-person programs; welcomed new staff and teaching artists; and began the vital work of becoming a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. Read the full newsletter here.
Photo by Stephanie Williams Images
Holding Gratitude & Acknowledgement Together
Dear Friends,
On this day, when many Americans typically gather around the table with loved ones in thanksgiving, I send you this note of gratitude and acknowledgment. I’m humbled by
the power of our collective imagination, compassion, and good deeds that keep Arts for the Aging nourished. Your support has helped us combat isolation and loneliness in
aging, filling virtual spaces and delivering heART Kits during this time of pandemic; sparking joyful, healing, and artful connection across Greater Washington, D.C.
For this, I am grateful. Your passion, dedication, and thoughtful generosity continue to inspire me and the entire Arts for the Aging team as we evolve together through these uncertain times. Read the full newsletter here.
Photo Above: Arts for the Aging Kids N’ Grans Program, 2009, Stephanie Williams Images
Growing Within: Reflections on the Last Eight Months...
Dear Friends,
What an enriching summer it has been at Arts for the Aging. We look forward eagerly to the day when we can fully resume artful caregiving in-person. Meanwhile, virtual programs remain strong, including 175 multidisciplinary arts workshops conducted so far this year.
Continuing partnerships with the Smithsonian Institution and The Phillips Collection energize us, new partnerships with the University of Florida Jacksonville and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and conversations with the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington Ballet validate us. Participation in the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH) fall awards program this October promises much more to come!
Read on for more of our latest updates here.
Photo above: Intergenerational workshop with Alexandria Adult Day Health Care Center and Episcopal High School (photo credit Stephanie Williams Images).