Center may expand senior art options

Plans are in the works for a Bloomington center where senior citizens can stay active in the arts. \nOn Nov. 19, the director for the National Center for Creative Aging, a New York-based initiative to create arts programming for older adults nationwide, Susan Perlstein, held a workshop at the John Waldron Arts Center to launch a local chapter of the Center for Creative Aging. She presented examples of work that senior citizens have done in creative aging centers around the country. \n"The purpose of this afternoon is networking and to see where you want to go in Bloomington," Perlstein said.\nStudies have shown that creative endeavors can actually slow the effects of aging. In his book "The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life," creative aging expert Gene Cohen writes that recent experiments have shown the brain's ability to change with use and its capacity to respond to environmental challenges.\n"In effect, these findings confirm the folklore advice to 'use it or lose it,'" he wrote.\nThe IU Eppley Institute for Parks & Public Lands has agreed to sponsor a feasibility study, which will explore the implications of creating a chapter of the Center for Creative Aging in Bloomington.\nJulie Hill has a full-time appointment with the Eppley Institute and was one of the three writers of the grant that was necessary to begin the study. She also represents the Bloomington Area Arts Council, and her own project, the Partners program, which offers creative activities to older adults who suffer from Alzheimer's disease or who are in the early stages of senile dementia. \nThe Partners program meets from 1 to 4 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday at the First United Church on Third Street. It was created as an alternative to adult daycare centers, which Hill said are not appropriate for those who are still cognizant of their surroundings.\nHill said that Bloomington is advertised as an ideal retirement location and an artistic Mecca but does not offer enough artistic programming for older adults. There are only about six total adult recreational programs offered in Monroe County, compared to more than a dozen different summer youth camps alone. A Bloomington Center for Creative Aging would continue to support the Partners program as well as offer new opportunities for older adults.\n"Older people are labelled as diseased items, but we are at a turning point," Perlstein said. "We're making major shifts -- even three years ago people weren't talking like this."\nThe feasibility study will mainly consist of various focus groups. Hill was reluctant to comment on the specifics of the center and what it would offer if it was created. She wishes to avoid any "turf wars" over programming in the community. She said that though there are local art classes that are offered through the Bloomington Area Arts Council and other organizations, there are few options for strictly senior citizen courses.\nThe Center would not only provide programming for older adults, but also education for younger generations on how to better interact with the baby boomers.\n"Recreational people think that (the baby boomers) will spend money on tourism, but most will be on personal creative endeavors," Hill said. "As a community, we need to prepare for that onset of creative energy."\nIU professor Laura Karcher and her Speech and Hearing Science students often volunteer with the Partners class, to help the patrons make memory books. \n"They are not just photo albums or scrapbooks," she said. "They allow us to maintain if not improve the communication skills of those with Alzheimer's. They are a way to get them to talk about their pasts."\nHill was unable to comment on whether the center would be a division of IU or of the City of Bloomington. She explained that it will mainly be a network of existing organizations. She also could not say for sure when the study would be complete. \n"What if we do a feasibility study and discover that it is not feasible?" she asked.\nAfter Perlstein's workshop, however, Hill and others seem optimistic. \n"The enthusiasm was huge," Hill said. "They were really jazzed about the whole concept. (Perlstein) was extremely impressed and feels like we are ready for something like this." \nThe first focus group is set to meet in January and will provide "further discussion on why we need this (center) and what it is," Hill said.