College to Host Conference on Aging and Creativity

The Gerontology Institute will present "Aging and Creativity," a daylong conference of lectures, workshops, a panel discussion, and a performance showcase concentrating on how art can enhance the lives of older adults. The conference will take place Thursday, May 24, in the Campus Center.

The keynote address will be delivered by Gene D. Cohen, director of the Center on Aging, Health, and Humanities at George Washington University, where he is also professor of health care sciences and professor of psychiatry. "To think about older adults primarily in terms of decline and disability or to view them as a national burden is to overlook the challenge and responsibility necessary to help actualize skills and adaptability in later life," Cohen says.

The workshops will include presentations by scholars, teachers, and artists, including actress Laverne Light --- a 1942 Ithaca College graduate --- and other performers who have maintained their creative energy into their later years. In addition to the traditional target audience of health care and social service providers, facility administrators, scholars, and interested lay-people, the workshop will also appeal to visual and performing artists as well as artists who teach.

The registration fee for the full-day conference is $50, which includes morning and afternoon sessions, light refreshments, and lunch. The half-day fee, which includes a choice of morning or afternoon session, along with lunch and refreshments, is $30. The half-day fee with refreshments only is $25. A limited number of scholarships are available for artists and health and aging service professionals.

The registration deadline is Thursday, May 17. Information on the conference or on continuing education credits is available from the Gerontology Institute at 274-1965. Complete conference registration brochures are also available on request.

Session topics will include

• "Developing a Painting Program"
• "Heard Words: Aiding the Elderly in Writing the Stories of Their Lives"
• "Body Map: A Journey into the Story of the Body"
• "Masks: Imagination/Revelation/Transformation"
• "Working with Artists"
• "Music Therapy: A Window of Peace"

The performance showcase will include dancer Jill Becker, singer Alma Fortez, actors Sydney Green and Laverne Light, and trombonist Dick Schreck ’52, M.S. ’61.

The panel discussion will give the artists an opportunity to discuss aging and creativity. The moderators will be Susan Perlstein, director of the National Center for Creative Aging/Elders Share the Arts, and Richard Driscoll, executive director of the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County.

"Aging and Creativity" is presented in cooperation with the Ithaca College Division of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions. Support has also been received from the Ithaca College School of Music, Department of Theatre Arts, and Handwerker Gallery, along with the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County, WSKG Public Broadcasting, Race Office Equipment, Brunner-Routledge Publishing, Taylor and Francis Publishing, and Golden Aspen Publishing Company.