Creative Aging: a case for investing in art-for-wellness programs for active adults

The Nevada Arts Council is actively involved in Creative Aging initiatives, particularly in Las Vegas. They offer programs and resources to engage older adults in arts learning and creative expression. They also distribute grants for programming and training teaching artists to better serve this population. The Nevada Arts Council also connects stakeholders from various sectors to collaborate on Creative Aging efforts. For that reason, they recently held a summit at the Henderson Senior Center to bring together various stakeholders (nonprofit, education, government, healthcare, and business) to work together on Creative Aging initiatives.

A few of us city of Las Vegas employees welcomed the idea to learn more about how we can better support the Active Adults in our community through art-for-wellness programs. During this two-hour training, the Nevada Arts Council highlighted the numerous benefits of Creative Aging, including combating loneliness, enhancing cognitive function, and fostering a sense of purpose. It also included a two person panel and a moderator, Julie Klein - Director of Program Strategy for Lifetime Arts, who facilitated discussions on the joys and challenges teaching artists face and insights into our local community needs.

What Is Creative Aging?

Creative aging refers to programs, practices, and philosophies that engage older adults in meaningful, arts-based experiences. From visual arts and dance to writing, music, and theater, these opportunities promote not only personal fulfillment but also physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being.

Creative aging isn’t just about filling time in retirement—it’s about igniting purpose, fostering connection, and nurturing the mind, body, and spirit through the arts as we age. Whether it’s painting, dancing, writing, gardening, or playing music, creative expression unlocks new avenues for older adults to grow, share, and thrive. Creative aging empowers older adults to stay connected, purposeful, and vibrant.

Health Benefits That Go Beyond the Surface

Participating in the arts isn’t just enjoyable—it’s healing. Research shows that creative activities in later life can:

• Improve memory and cognitive function

• Reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression

• Increase mobility and coordination

• Lower the risk of social isolation and loneliness

  
  

Creative expression taps into deep emotional reservoirs, providing a sense of identity, agency, and connection that traditional health services alone can’t always offer.

Bridging Generations and Strengthening Communities

One of the most powerful aspects of creative aging is its ability to bring people together. Older adults have rich stories, skills, and perspectives to share—and creative programs give them a platform to do just that.

Whether mentoring young artists, collaborating in community projects, or performing for local audiences, older adults contribute meaningfully to the cultural and social fabric of their communities. In doing so, they help shift the narrative around aging from decline to vitality. Perhaps the most important message of creative aging is this: creativity doesn’t retire.

Imagination doesn’t fade with time—it evolves. Many artists find their voice later in life, when there’s space for reflection, courage, and authenticity. There’s beauty in starting a new chapter, no matter your age.

Creative Aging in Practice: Overcoming the Barriers to Arts-Based Programs for Older Adults

We are ALL aging... all the time. And art is something that people can explore from childhood to adolescents to adulthood and well-into their senior years. However, because many people now need to work long past retirement or become caregivers for their aging parents, it can be a challenge to participate in community programs or special events. Some challenges discussed were transportation, accessibility, time limitations, stigma... and even personal bias.

Together, government, non-profit and corporate organizations can help older adults overcome these barriers. Lifetime Arts’ “Creative Aging in the West” project is setting a bold precedent for how communities across five Western states—Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming—integrate creative aging into public health strategies and aging services. By collaborating with state agencies, local organizations, libraries, and artists, they aim to expand arts-based programming that enriches the lives of older adults from cities to rural and Tribal communities. Their initiative is to increase opportunities for social connection, improve health outcomes, and demonstrate the far-reaching benefits of creativity as we age.

These initiatives highlight the fact that art-for-wellness programs and events should not be an after-though, but rather a priority. We must learn to initiate and enhance these programs while being innovative in our approach to remove real and perceived barriers. Creating partnerships and coalitions will help strengthen these efforts and influence public policy making these programs more sustainable through federal/local grants and effective by combining resources and information. The right community partners can help shape the success of a program.

Programs that support creative aging not only enrich lives, they also strengthen communities. They reduce isolation, improve mental and physical health, and offer older adults the chance to share their wisdom and stories in ways that can shape future generations.

So whether you're designing programs, supporting a loved one, or exploring your own next chapter—know that embracing creativity is one of the most powerful ways to age not just gracefully, but vibrantly. Active Adulthood is a population within our community that deserves intentional outreach for lasting impact that will shape the community like clay and paint the culture of our community.