Aging Great in NYC

Lindsay Goldman, project director for Age-friendly NYC, shares findings from a new report and other news on aging well in the city. 

My week kicked off with an exciting opportunity at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Along with a group of experts in geriatric medicine, aging services and—most importantly—older artists, I helped an audience of museum professionals explore the intersection of healthy aging and the arts.

The event was part of MoMA’s Primetime Initiative, a program that is just one of the ways the museum makes attracting older visitors and artists a strategic priority, along with Meet Me at MoMA, a program that caters to people with dementia and their caregivers.

Having spent the formative years of my career as the director of a senior center-based program for people with dementia and physical frailty, I frequently participated in this program and witnessed the power of art and music to reduce some of the most devastating symptoms of dementia and improve mental health through social connection.    

The transformative, healing impact of communal activities and the social support that comes with them, emerged as critical part of growing older in good health in the Academy’s new report, “Aging: Health Challenges and the Role of Social Connections,” released, in part, to commemorate Older Americans month 2016. One of the participants in the surveys and focus groups conducted for the report said:

“There are so many programs that make the depression disappear. I saw one old man, he has arthritis and he has depression and he was very depressed, but when we were bowling he hit a strike and he was so happy. Since then he joined bowling and went to social things and karaoke; then he feels more useful than before and it reduced all the problems. That’s why I say there are so many programs here that will cure your depression gradually. It is an amazing senior center. … We have parties. You always enjoy it. Come to the outside world....” ( focus group participant, Queens, NY).

There is ample evidence that “coming to the outside world” is good for your health. Recent studies indicate that social isolation may be as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and that it is associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease and stroke. While participation in arts and cultural programming has been shown to be associated with better physical and mental health, fewer doctor visits and less medication usage.

Creating a More Supportive City

Yet, ensuring that older city residents have opportunities to enjoy culture and community requires more than senior centers. While centers are an incredible source of support and enrichment; more than 90 percent of the 1.4 million New Yorkers over age 60 do not attend them. So to improve health outcomes for older people, we need to look beyond centers and even beyond health care, to places like MoMA—an effort at the center of our Age-friendly New York City (Af-NYC) initiative, a partnership between the Mayor’s office, the New York City Council and the Academy.

Having spoken to thousands of older people through Af-NYC, we’ve learned that most do not prefer age-segregated activities; rather, they want to continue enjoying all of the establishments they have visited throughout their lives—theaters, restaurants, parks, shops and museums.

Here at the Academy, we are working to make that easier to do by promoting best practices, such as MoMA’s, that maximize the potential of arts and cultural institutions to improve health and wellbeing for older people through increased socialization, life-long learning, creative expression and fun that prioritizes intergenerational connection.

Our Af-NYC Commission includes a working group of experts from across the public, private and nonprofit sectors who aim to identify and reduce barriers older people encounter when accessing arts and cultural programming. They will also encourage media and arts institutions to emphasize the strengths that come with aging, while combating age-based discrimination—another contributor to social isolation.

We’re working with our city agency and council partners to improve older people’s experiences with city-funded services and amenities such as libraries, public parks, pools, buildings and transportation. Finally, building on our popular Growth and Aging reading and discussion series last fall, we are continuing to celebrate the achievements of older artists and activists through our own cultural programming with exciting activities throughout 2016.