Opening Exhibition at The Phillips Collection
It was an honor to participate for a second year in a museum exhibition celebrating creative aging at the Phillips Collection, honoring older adult artists participating in community-based arts workshops with Arts for the Aging and other partners like Iona Senior Center. Museum Educator Donna Jonte designed exhibition tours that brought works of art to life. These museum visits were followed by hands-on art-making workshops with Arts for the Aging teaching artists back at the senior center. You can find more images from the exhibition reception here. Below, teaching artist Annetta Dexter Sawyers admires a collaborative mural made by seniors at Alexandria Adult Day Services Center. The mural was inspired by "Marking Our Time: Aboriginal Woman Artists and Contemporary Art" at the Phillips. The exhibition runs through December 15, 2019 and we invite you to visit the show. Photo credit: Stephanie Williams Images.
Creative Aging conversation with Quicksilver Senior Improv Dance Company at Dance Exchange
Join us at Dance Exchange (DX) on Friday, October 25, 2019 from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. for a conversation about creativity and aging, featuring Quicksilver, Arts for the Aging's senior improv dance company. DX has convened leaders and practitioners in the field of creative aging and related fields for a lively discussion, sharing of best practices, and celebration of creativity in adults along the aging spectrum. All are welcome and encouraged to attend this free event, with a suggested donation of $20 to DX, located at 7117 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912.
Fall 2019 Events Celebrating the Art and Freedom of Expression in Tango
Arts for the Aging's Milonga at the Embassy on October 10, 2019 was a rousing success. The Embassy of Argentina in Washington D.C. partnered with us to co-create programs and celebrate the culmination of a community workshop series in tango for older adults. Since a milonga is a lively style of tango, and it can also mean a party, the embassy event featured live tango activations, ravishing performances, presentation of the 2019 Lolo Sarnoff Founder's Awards, and a video premiere featuring the workshop series. Click here for photos from event.
At our Milonga by the Lake on September 14, 2019, board chairman Don Wright and Lezley McIlveen hosted friends of Arts for the Aging in their beautiful lakeside home in Virginia for a look-in to the beauty, art, and health of tango, including exquisite performances and tango activations. With multi-cultural roots in African and European immigrant slave populations, and far-reaching music and dance characteristics, the art form is rich with "entry points" --- ways to create connection, joy, and healing in Arts for the Aging programs. Below, Liza and Alex Semyonov with Tango Mercurio demonstrate the dance for friends of the organization. Click here for more photos from the evening. Stephanie Williams Images.
#GivingTuesday feature in The Washington Post
We are delighted to be included in The Washington Post columnist Petula Dvorak's piece about #GivingTuesday. Join the AFTA cause by making a gift today! It will support our skilled and trained professional teaching artists who uplift the lives and improve the health of older adults living with physical and cognitive health vulnerabilities. Our celebrated artistic faculty lead therapeutic and multidisciplinary arts engagement programs in 31 community and residential care settings in Greater Washington, this year impacting 1,000+ seniors in the region with weekly and bi-weekly activations. Help us ensure underserved senior communities have continued access to the transformative power of regular arts participation. Donations will be matched dollar for dollar by The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation for up to $15,000!