The Carle Awarded Competitive Seeding Artful Aging Grant to Catalyze the Growing National Artful Aging Movement
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art was selected as one of only 15 non-profit organizations throughout the U.S. to receive a grant from Aroha Philanthropies through its new national initiative, “Seeding Artful Aging.”
Chosen from a highly competitive field of more than 200 applicants, The Carle is among the first cohort of grantees to partner with Aroha Philanthropies in this seminal initiative designed to support the development and expansion of successful Artful Aging programs.
Artful Aging programs inspire and enable older adults to learn, make, and share the arts in ways that are novel, complex, and socially engaging. The work is driven by teaching artists whose creative process and understanding of older adults bring joy, connection, improved health and well-being, and a renewed sense of purpose to older adults in community and residential settings. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is thrilled to join Aroha Philanthropies at the forefront of the emerging field of Artful Aging.
“Aroha Philanthropies’ generous grant will support our new Create at The Carle: Art Classes for Adults program which is designed for adults 55 and older who want to experiment with materials and express themselves through visual art. In 2017, The Carle will invite established artists to give classes on collage, bookmaking, and printmaking,” said Alexandra Kennedy, the Museum’s executive director. “We are delighted to partner in the Seeding Artful Aging initiative to not only support our community but to contribute to a growing national movement to bring the many benefits of artful aging to communities everywhere.”
For more information about The Carle, please visit www.carlemuseum.org.
For more information about Seeding Artful Aging, please visit www.arohaartfulaging.org.
For more information or to request an interview, please contact Sandy Soderberg at 413-559-6315 or Sandys@carlemuseum.org.
About The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
The mission of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, a non-profit organization in Amherst, MA, is to inspire a love of art and reading through picture books. The only full-scale museum of its kind in the United States, The Carle collects, preserves, presents, and celebrates picture books and picture book illustrations from around the world. In addition to underscoring the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of picture books and their art form, The Carle offers educational programs that provide a foundation for arts integration and literacy.
Eric Carle and his wife, the late Barbara Carle, co-founded the Museum is November 2002. Carle is the renowned author and illustrator of more than 70 books, including the 1969 classicThe Very Hungry Caterpillar. Since opening, the 40,000-square foot facility has served more than half a million visitors, including 30,000 schoolchildren. The Carle houses more than 13,000 objects, including 6,600 permanent collection illustrations. The Carle has three art galleries, an art studio, a theater, picture book and scholarly libraries, and educational programs for families, scholars, educators, and schoolchildren. Educational offerings include professional training for educators around the country and Master’s degree programs in children’s literature with Simmons College. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 12 noon to 5 p.m. Open Mondays in July and August and during MA school vacation weeks. Admission is $9 for adults, $6 for children under 18, and $22.50 for a family of four. For further information and directions, call (413) 559-6300 or visit the Museum’s website at www.carlemuseum.org.
About Artful Aging
Aroha defines “artful aging” as a subset of the broader field of creative aging. Artful aging programs inspire and enable older adults to learn, make and share the arts in ways that are novel, complex and socially engaging. Successful artful aging programs are led by teaching artists whose creative process and understanding of older adults bring joy, connection, improved health and well-being, and a renewed sense of purpose to older adults in community and residential settings. More information is available at www.arohaartfulaging.org.
About Aroha Philanthropies
Aroha Philanthropies is devoted to the transformative power of the arts and creativity, inspiring vitality in those over 55, joy in children and youth, and humanity in adults with mental illness. We believe that learning, making, and sharing art enriches everyone throughout their lifetime. Aroha Philanthropies works to improve the quality of life of people 55+ by encouraging the funding, development, and proliferation of arts programs designed to enhance longer lives, and by advancing the development of professional teaching artists working with those in their encore years. More information is available at www.arohaphilanthropies.org.
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