Goals

For Artists

At the completion of this project, artists will be able to:

1. Document and preserve their work, thereby preserving legacy;
2. Organize and document their work according to a needs assessment;
3. Appreciate the importance of meaningful roles and activities (the occupation of art) to positive aging;
4. Participate in life review and in-depth discussion of their work while reviewing their achievements and creations over their artistic lifetimes;
5. Experience a one-to-one mentorship with an interdisciplinary team of vetted, eager graduate fellows;
6. Share the process with peers;
7. Describe the importance of preparation for later life to fellows as they mature professionally;
8. Participate in a forum where their life lessons and advice can help young artists in their careers;
9. Organize their workspace and functioning within it.
10. Promote the integration of their work in the marketplace.

For Fellows

At the completion of the ART CART pilot, graduate fellows from different disciplines will be able to:

1. Document and preserve the work of older adult artists, thereby preserving legacy;
2. Learn practical documentation skills that can serve them in their careers;
3. Appreciate the importance of meaningful roles and activities (the occupation of art) to positive aging;
4. Describe the developmental tasks of older adults (62+) that facilitate or impede positive aging (a sense of integrity);
5. Apply interdisciplinary principles and strategies to collaborate with fellows, faculty and older adults to achieve mutually agreed upon goals;
6. Assess the needs of older adult artists (cognitive, psychosocial, physical, environmental and occupational);
7. Analyze the needs/wishes of older adult artists re: documenting their work based on findings of a needs assessment;
8. Apply motivational skills that foster adaptive strategies for continuity of identity, roles and values;
9. Enhance function for older artists in relation to documenting their work;
10. Describe the importance of preparation for later life to each fellow as s/he matures professionally; and
11. Generalize the learning related to older adult artists to the larger society of older adult populations and to older professionals, while recognizing the need to individualize attitudes and beliefs to avoid negative or positive stereotyping.
12. Integrate transformative learning concepts in your work with older adults.
13. Integrate adult learning concepts in your work with older adults.

For Educators

At the completion of this project, educators will be able to:

1. Develop an interdisciplinary curriculum for studio art, arts administration, arts education, gerontology, occupational therapy, public health and social work  to include a sustained hands-on experience for graduate students with older artists;
2. Apply an interdisciplinary, inter-generational learning experience with policy and program implications for higher education;
3. Expand graduate students’ experiences to include a fieldwork component in the context of a year-long course that enhances skills requisite for their professional development;
4. Develop socially responsible connections for  the institution of higher learning and its faculty and graduate students with the community of older adult artists;
5. Evaluate outcomes of this program for all involved: a) the students, b) the artists, c) the institution of higher learning;
6. Develop a prototype to be re-created at several universities and then taken to a national stage;
7. Develop documentation of a new curriculum that becomes a “standard” for university studio art degrees and potentially other degree programs (a long-term goal).

For Artists’ Working Partners (AWP)

As a member of the ART CART team (artist, AWP and two fellows), the AWP will participate in an endeavor that will lead to preserving a particular artist’s legacy, thereby participating in a generative role in the making of cultural history for the individual artist and for society. The AWP will be part of a stimulating adult learning environment in which members of this intergenerational team will work collaboratively, learning to document the artist’s work, assisting with organization of the studio, and being a participant/observer at exhibitions, gallery shows and public forums. The value of preparation for later life and the ability to continue to participate in meaningful roles and activities to enhance quality of life in the later years will be demonstrated to all involved. Depending on the relationship the AWP has with the artist (spouse, partner, adult child, artist, friend or paid worker), objectives stated below will vary. Some of the objectives will be more applicable to the particular AWP than others. During and after the ART CART academic year, the AWP will:

1. Develop new skills in the photographing of art work and in using a software package that enables the artist’s work to be documented;
2. Form collaborative, supportive relationships with a small group of people (artist and 2 fellows) from different disciplines and ages working toward a common goal: preserving the artist’s legacy;
3. Assist the artist and the fellows with organization of the artist’s studio, while problem-solving around issues designed to promote maximum participation in the occupation of art and preserving a legacy;
4. Contribute to methods that will enable the artist to become more productive and efficient in preparing for shows, exhibitions, sales;
5. Learn the human and financial value of the artist’s work to him/herself and to others;
6. Apply some of these new skills to one’s own life as needed or desired;
7. Contribute to a University and community endeavor that will have a lasting positive impact on all involved;
8. Develop new and/or deeper relationships in this team partnership.