In 2018, Aroha and the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) announced a new national partnership to support creative aging. AAM collaborated with Aroha and Lifetime Arts to create a cohort of 20 museums that will develop Vitality Arts® programs in 2019 and 2020.
AAM also created the position of Aroha Senior Fellow for Museums and Creative Aging, which is funded by Aroha. Over the course of two years, the Fellow will work with museums and with organizations and individuals in the creative aging sector to:
- Raise awareness about the pervasive and negative effects of ageism
- Instigate change by using the Alliance’s extensive network and diverse platforms to disseminate information and tools museums need to implement age-inclusive practices in all areas of operations, including programming, marketing, and hiring
- Promote evaluation and research that contributes to the growing body of knowledge on creative aging, and encouraging application of the latest research findings on the benefits of arts participation
- Foster partnerships between museums and organizations devoted to creative aging
AAM writes, “It is our intent that, as a result of the fellow’s work, more museums will integrate creative aging practices into their work as a matter of course, and we will increase the number of national and community-based organizations dedicated to creative aging that see museums as vital partners for their work. The major components of the fellow’s work will be generating content (writing and speaking); networking; and organizing a multi-day symposium to be held in the fall of 2019.”