Untold Stories of Aging
An Art- and Media-Based Community-Action Project
Untold Stories is an arts- and media-based community-action project, seeking to illuminate the experiences of older adults and the professionals who serve them through conversation, collaboration, art, and advocacy.
We reimagine aging through art and creativity by:
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We center the perspectives of older adults, their families, and communities. This means following their lead in terms of identifying critical social issues, concerns, and solutions using collaborative approaches toward programming design and delivery.
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We measure the impact of art in diverse ways that prioritize meaning making, social connection, collective health and wellbeing. At the individual level, arts-based programming can foster a sense of wellbeing, belonging, and ward off isolation and loneliness. In communities, it can foster meaningful connection, inspire collaborative initiatives, and combat societal ageism and age-based segregation.
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By rigorously measuring the impacts of arts-based programming and ensuring sound implementation, we design and deliver programs that are effective, evidence-based, and sustainable. We draw evidence from innovative, pioneering academic and community-based research efforts to document these programs as well as disseminating findings to diverse audiences to further develop and refine the field of arts-based intergenerational programming.
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Need description
Untold Stories of Aging is an arts-based community action program that is transforming our understanding of aging through collaboration, art, and research. Equal parts community engagement, social welfare, and mixed art media, the program empowers us to imagine diverse visions for later life while combating societal ageism and generational segregation.
What began as a student-led community project in 2021 has evolved in new directions, including a traveling exhibition that brings curated artwork to retirement communities.
Here, residents use the exhibition pieces as inspiration to create their own collective art installations that are eventually shared with broader intergenerational audiences. The program also shares artwork in standing research-focused or arts-focused exhibition settings. Executing these installations offers training opportunities for social work and art education students while adding to the scientific literature on the role of art in aging.