September 24, 2015
 
In This Issue 

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Invest with Confidence


Photographs courtesy of: Stephanie Williams, Kensington Club @ Parklawn and AFTA staff. Artwork by senior participants in Arts for the Aging workshops.

Dear Friends,
 
As the summer comes to a close we reflect on an art-filled season. Stay tuned as the weather grows cooler for exciting opportunities to engage with Arts for the Aging.

Brandi Rose
AFTA Program Director

artexhibition
Art Exhibition + Creative Engagement Training
 
Art: In the Moment

 














The Jewish Council for the Aging's Gorlitz Kensington Club @ Parklawn presents the 3rd Annual Open House and Art Show, featuring artwork created during AFTA workshops.

Join us to explore the gallery and enjoy light refreshments.  Free and open to all.

Exhibition Opening Reception
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Kensington Club @ Parklawn
12320 Parklawn Drive
Rockville, MD 20852


Creative Engagement Training Workshops
 
In conjunction with the exhibition opening mentioned above, we will present two training workshops designed for professional caregivers, including:  recreation therapists, activity directors/leaders/assistants, social workers, nurses, music and art therapists, teaching artists, senior center activity staff and managers and care manager associates.  Registration fee: $15

A certificate of completion will be issued at the close of the second session that can be submitted for continuing education credit. 
 
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
 
The Nuts & Bolts of How To Create & Host An Art Show For Your Center
Colleen M. Kemp, CTRS and Brandi Rose, M.A., AFTA Program Director
4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
 
BEYOND CHARADES: Improv Group Modalities  for Those in Early to Mid-Stage Dementia
Annetta Dexter-Sawyer, B.A., M.A.,  AFTA Teaching Artist
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.  
 
 
For more information and to register, visit 

Quicksilver
Coming Soon: AFTA Exhibition at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery
 


We are pleased to announce an exhibition of AFTA program participant artwork at the Smith Center for the Healing and the Arts' Joan Hisaoka Gallery located at 1632 U St. NW, Washington, D.C.  The exhibition will run December 11 to January 6.   Save the date for an Opening Reception on Friday, December 11.  Special thanks to the Rotary Club of Washington, D.C. and the Philip L. Graham Fund for supporting this exhibition.
 
Quicksilver
Quicksilver Performs for 
Keiro no hi
 
 

Keiro no hi or "Respect for the Aged Day" is a
Japanese holiday honoring older adults celebrated on the 3rd Monday of  September. On this day, 
people express respect and gratitude for their elder's contributions to society and celebrate their longevity. 

AFTA's senior improvisational dance company Quicksilver performed at a  Keiro no hi  luncheon presented by   The Japanese Americans' Care Fund  (JACF). AFTA Teaching Artist and Quicksilver co-director Anthony Hyatt talked to the audience of Japanese-American seniors about AFTA and Quicksilver's mission and work. Hyatt and members of Quicksilver then led the audience in an interactive movement engagement and performed two improvised pieces to traditional Japanese music.
 
We think this wonderful holiday should be adopted worldwide! 
 
wall
New Teaching Artist Joins
 AFTA Faculty
 
Wall Matthews leads a drum circle at the Kensington Club @ Parklawn
 
Wall Matthews is a composer, performer, and teacher who is accomplished on guitar, piano, and African percussion. As Composer in Residence for Dance at Connecticut College, Wall had an ongoing involvement with modern dance. He has composed numerous dance scores which have been performed by the Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Nikolai-Louis Company, and the Limon Company.  His accolades include an Emmy nomination for his soundtrack to documentary Yellowstone: Battle for LifeWall will facilitate songwriting and percussion workshops for AFTA.
 
carol
An Exhibition of Art, Music and Friendship
 
Gloria and her daughter, Janet, admire artwork she created in AFTA workshops.

At Alexandria Adult Day Services Center, 
a dedicated group of women have embraced art-making with arms wide open.  They participate in bi-weekly workshops with AFTA Teaching Artist Carol Siegel (pictured top left).  Carol practices Expressive Arts Therapy which integrates modalities like poetry, storytelling and painting to promote growth and healing.  The women soared under Carol's guidance.  And at a recent exhibition of their work at the Alexandria Black History Museum  in April, their enthusiasm for creativity was evident - and contagious!
 
 
 
institute
Teaching Artist Institute

In 2013, AFTA launched the Teaching Artist Institute, a continuing education series that supports our faculty of teaching artists with workshops designed to enhance the excellence of their curriculum.

We eagerly anticipate two upcoming workshops.













October 2, 2015
      
Presenter: Ermyn King, MA, Arts & Health Practitioner and Administrator; Inclusive Arts Education/Universal Arts Access Consultant; Applied Drama, Puppetry, Storytelling, and Integrated Arts Specialist/Teaching Artist; and Audio Describer and Trainer 
 
King will lead a workshop for teaching artists and members of Quicksilver on "Transforming Program Spaces into Inspiring Arts Engagement Environments". During the session, King will share ideas for creating an engaging and safe space for creativity in programs through rituals, props, music, verbal prompts, and more.  She will also lead discussion about how to make programs more accessible for our participants with varying needs. 



November 11, 2015
  
Presenter: Judith-Kate Friedman, Award-winning vocalist, performing songwriter and producer; Distinguished Fellow of the Global Alliance for Arts and Health; Member of the NCCA Speakers Bureau; Founder of Songwriting Works.
 
In an interactive workshop, Friedman will present her "Community Songwriting Process", which is the foundation of her Songwriting Works program for creative expression with older adults living with dementia.

The Teaching Artist Institute is made possible through a generous grant from the Niles Foundation.
 
voices
Voices Far and Wide
Storie s from our AFTA Faculty
 
AFTA Teaching Artist Karen Webber Gilat engages a group at Iona Adult Day Services in song.

After singing "You Are My Sunshine", Teaching Artist Karen Webber Gilat asked the group what brought them sunshine: "My grandchildren, Looking at shapes in clouds, Jack Daniels on an ice cube!"

Youth from Magruder's Discovery discuss their favorite animals with seniors at Kensington Club in an intergenerational AFTA workshop led by teaching artist Candace Wolf.

At Greenbelt Adult Day Care Center, Teaching Artist Candace Wolf's participants shared unique and interesting stories about animals in their lives. Next, they spontaneously created a operatic story and dance, using simple percussive instruments on hand, to bring to life a story they had created about wild, tame, loving and ferocious animals. 

Participants at Alexandria Adult Day Services Center takes part in a sing-a-long from The Sound of Music with AFTA Teaching Artist Joan Hampton Fraser

At Downtown Clusters Geriatric Day Care Center, Bertha shared the story of how she always sang gospel music in church but was not allowed to sing the blues growing up.  Sometimes she snuck outside and sang in the yard.  Teaching Artist Nancy Havlik asked if she would sing blues now.  Not remembering what song she had sung (Bertha was, after all, 101),  another participant remembered Bertha liked the song "Stormy Weather". She started singing a beautiful rendition for the group.  She said that her favorite singer had been Pearl Bailey.  

AFTA Teaching Artist Anthony Hyatt delights a program participant at the Support Center

   
Teaching Artist Marcie Wolf Hubbard has had lively conversations while creating postcard inspired collages with a group of seniors. One participant
 who recently had a stroke and suffered from memory loss selected a postcard of the Colosseum in Rome. He talked with the group about living overseas for three years. His wife was delighted to learn that he was involved in this art-making, but more importantly the rare reflection on their lives when they both worked together in Italy.  This helped her feel good about her spouse's care during the day.  


mission
Mission Support

 

Generous individuals, foundations, and corporations as well as government and community partners join with AFTA to enable us to fulfill this mission.

$35,000
Philip L. Graham Fund

$25,000
The Connors Family Foundation
Arts and Humanities Council
   of Montgomery County

$20,000+
The Clark-Winchcole Foundation
Maryland State Arts Council
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Weissberg Foundation

$15,000+
Nancy Peery Marriott Foundation

$10,000
Arts and Humanities Council
   of Montgomery County (Advancement Grant)
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
   (Matching Grant)
National Endowment for the Arts

$7,500+
John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation
Louis H. Shaman Charitable Foundation

$5,000
Henry E. Niles Foundation
The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation
William E. Cross Foundation

$3,000+
The Renah Blair Rietzke Family
   and Community Foundation
The Rockville Rotary Foundation
Rotary Foundation of Washington, D.C.

$2,500
The Sulica Fund

$1,000
Dorothy E. Rogers Memorial Fund of the Arlington Community Foundation
The Elno Family Foundation
Montgomery County Council
Montgomery County Executive's Ball
SunTrust Bank




ARTS FOR THE AGING (AFTA) | 12320 Parklawn Drive | Rockville, Maryland 20852