I have always loved spending time in museums. They are places that inspire me and make me feel welcome. But when I entered my 50s, I started to notice that museums across the United States were pouring tremendous resources into attracting children and families while investing far less in the continued, deep engagement of older adults.

I chose to recognize this as an opportunity.

Most Americans remain eager to create, learn, and achieve well into their seventies and eighties. Yet, by and large, museum programming hasn’t made it a priority to engage older adults. It’s not that museums don’t care; it’s that ageism clouds the promise of this rapidly expanding demographic.

In a short number of years, people over 65 will outnumber those under 18 for the first time in U.S. history. While older adults today are more vital than in any previous generation, at least a third of them report being lonely. And loneliness is dangerous. In older adults, it increases the risk of clinical dementia by 40 percent and premature death by 50 percent.

Hundreds of clinical trials have demonstrated that creative arts programs improve health outcomes at all stages of life, whether someone is making art or simply viewing it. In our older years, the arts can offer a sense of purpose, build social connection, help prevent and delay cognitive decline, and be invaluable to those with memory issues and dementia.

Since 2012, I have focused my philanthropy on empowering museums to welcome older adults. My priority has been funding Vitality Arts programs, including a 2018 initiative with AAM that brought Vitality Arts programming to 20 museums nationwide. Together, we produced the first major national report calling on museums to make creative aging a core institutional priority.

I am increasingly invested in creating museum spaces designed to welcome older adults and in educational positions for creative aging specialists. Simultaneously, I am commissioning short films, documentaries, and research to build the public’s awareness and understanding of why creative aging is essential to our country’s future.

Through partnerships with more than 50 museums, I’ve learned that it’s not only older adults who are transformed by creative aging initiatives. Museums transform, too. They become more relevant, more equitable, and more central to the communities they serve.

What is required now is scale. That’s why I’m encouraging every museum—and every funder that supports museums—to join me in this effort and build on this important work.