1. In the Words of the Artist Pablo Picasso “As one grows older, art and life become one and the same.” ____________________________________________________________________________ Creativity Matters: Vital Aging in Community - April 17, 2009 Gay Hanna, PhD, MFA, Executive Director, National Center for Creative Aging, George Washington University

2. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: What is Aging, After All? Gene D. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D. Director, Center on Aging, Health & Humanities George Washington University, Washington, DC

3. Brain Plasticity & Aging The Dance Between Nature and Nuture

4. Neurogenesis Dentate Gyrus- a region in the hippocampus that receives input from the parahippocampus and encodes Memory. The role of Stem cells in the Dentate Gyrus

5. Definition of Creativity “Bringing something new into existence” Rollo May in The Courage to Create Bringing something new into existence that is valued.

6. Types of Creativity Creativity with a “BIG C” vs. Creativity with a “little c” Personal vs. Public Creativity Social Creativity

7. Categories of Creativity Continuing Creativity with Aging Changing Creativity with Aging Commencing Creativity with Aging Creativity in Connection with Loss

8. Pragmatic Creativity The New Senior Moment Practical Intelligence Increases with aging. It is further influenced by Psychological growth— e.g., the Liberation Phase.

9. Maria Ann Smith In 19th Century Australia

10. William Edmondson At 65, he had the inspiration to carve.

11. William Edmondson At 67, in 1937, Edmondson had the first solo exhibit by a Black artist in the history of the MOMA.

12. Irving Dominick at the National Museum Of American Art

13. Human Potential Phases Psychological Growth and Development in the Second Half of Life I. Reevaluation/Exploration/Transition Midlife Reevaluation Phase (±40 – ±65) ------------------ II. Liberation/Experimentation/Innovation Liberation Phase (±55 – ±75 ) ------------------ III. Recapitulation/Resolution/Contribution Summing Up Phase (late 60s — ±90) ------------------ IV. Reflection/Continuation/Celebration Encore Phase (late 70s on)

14. Postformal Thought 1. Relativistic Thinking: the role of subjective perspective and integrating the heart and the mind 2. Dialectic Thinking: dealing with opposing views and dealing competing solutions 3. Systematic Thinking: ability to think from a systems perspective

15. Simultaneous Bilateral Brain Involvement HAROLD MODEL: Hemispheric Asymmetry Reduction in Older Adults:

16. From 22 to 27, he traveled the world collecting thousands of plant and animal specimens and recording his observations in dozens of notebooks. But he struggled for 23 years to see the bigger picture, finally piecing the puzzle together in his classic publication at age 50—On the Origin of Species. 19th Century Naturalist drawing upon postformal reasoning

17. Emotions & Aging Changes in the Amygdala and the Favoring of positive emotions with aging by the amygdala Emotional stability, via controlling negative emotions, is governed by the medial prefrontal cortex, and improves until nearly age 80. Medial Prefrontal Cortex

18. Georgia O’Keeffe SKY ABOVE CLOUDS

19. Famous Figure of London, 1843 It was said at the time that "the cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice.”

20. Outcomes from Assisting the old Benefits to the young and to the community

21. Developmental Intelligence …Shows Itself as Wisdom

22. A New View of Aging Postulating That The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum Of Its Parts Sitting down, I’m fine, and if necessary, I’ll become a lie down comic.

23. The Old Tortoise and the Young Hare Positive Capacity of Aging Brain AESOP’S FABLES

24. Promoting Vital Aging Growing Imagination Building Vibrant Communities Through the arts and cultural exchange— ● Life Long Learning ● Health & Wellness ● Civic Engagement _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ For more information: www.creativeaging.org ● 202-895-9456www.creativeaging.org