Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Intergenerational Programs and Aging

Thanks to Tim Salony of the Blair County Library System for pointing out this great resource.

Penn State's Agricultural & Extension Education offers this great webpage on Intergenerational Programs and Aging. Find program ideas, articles, resources, initiatives from around the globe and more.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Get a Clue About Art

Last summer, the Allegheny County Library Association, Andrew Bayne Memorial Library, and Brew House Association, a local arts organization, piloted a six-week intergenerational art program bringing together older adults and youth for art workshops and a gallery exhibit.

This program included sculpting, collage, drawing, fabrics, acrylic painting and watercolor painting. Each 1.5 hour weekly workshop featured one artist and their media, exposing participants to a variety of shared experiences.

Over 60 pieces of artwork were included in the exhibit a few weeks after the concluding workshop. All works created by the participants in the project and works submitted by the workshop artists were exhibited professionally in the Brew House Gallery, Space 101 for a Sunday afternoon exhibit.

Because of the success of this pilot and the continued interest for our partners at BHA, the program has been replicated in four libraries the summer of 2008 with extended 2 hour workshops and a collaborative gallery exhibit with works from participants and artists at all four libraries.

We look forward to continuing the program with summer particularly with the summer reading club theme of Be Creative @ Your Library. To learn more about this program, contact Charity Leonette, Special Services Coordinator, Allegheny County Library Association.

Sprouting Together

The Altoona Area Public Library recently received a 2008 AARP Library Services for Older Adults Award for their intergenerational program for grandparents and their grandchildren, Sprouting Together.

The award description described the program's aim to increase intergenerational bonds through an art-based initiative program that emphasizes a high level of interaction between grandparents and their grandchildren as they created a scrapbook of memories, participated in games, stories and art projects. Sprouting Together focuses on family history and family stories in a creative interactive learning environment and includes a family tree art project, cultural changes, wardrobe/dress changes, economic changes and a celebration of intergenerational collaboration.

One innovative aspect of the program included videos of the session on YouTube which allowed participants to share the experience with family and friends outside of the local area. Great ideas!