How are marginalized populations not afforded equal opportunities for success within the field of art and art education? How does emphasis placed on early-life course development neglect late stage? What does it mean to be creative later in life? How are current models and tests of creativity inadequate in assessing older adults? How can art practice be a vehicle for coping with and adapting to these age related losses in physical, mental, material, and social assets?
The President 's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities released a report in 2011 that built a case for directing educational policies toward redressing longstanding inequities in arts education. The report argued that "students in schools that are most …show more content…
One source of negative associations and attitudes towards elderly folk is due to the “biomedicalization of aging”, or the redefining of age as a medical problem rather than a natural part of life. Americans see old age as a time of senescence, decreased productivity and overall reserved capacity. “Old age” is seen as a disease in itself, attributing it as the cause for a wide range of problems. Sankar (1984) attributes this belief partly to medical professionals, who tend to utilize the “old age diagnosis” when they cannot clearly define health problems of the elderly. This can be traced back to historical gerontology in the early 19th century in which Western medicine organized new perceptions of the aging body. Medical science aligned the meanings of old age with definitive signs of senescence. The elderly were assigned as clinically distinct population in need of disease intervention and treatment (Katz, 1996) This negative associations are evidenced in our society in the form of poorly maintained nursing homes and interactions with the elderly defined by exclusive talk of medical …show more content…
. . to ensure that older persons have an equal opportunity with other age groups to participate in and have access to the arts” ( p.l). The NCCA ( National Center for Creative Aging) seeks to draw links between creative expression and healthy aging. Accounts of creativity tend to show emphasis placed on early-stage life course development while neglecting late stage. Creativity models are flawed in their assessment because it’s nearly impossible to assess creativity without imparting a judge’s bias; Also, creativity models tend to focus on individual traits situated within a socio-historical context. Creativity models for assessment are culturally and socially constructed and aren 't properly suited to measure creativity in this age of life if they don’t consider the changing environmental, social, and health conditions with which the elderly live