In 2022, E.A. Michelson Philanthropy awarded the New Orleans Museum of Art a grant to jumpstart the institution’s Art Thrives program, designed to engage adults ages 55 and older through the arts. Part of a larger “creative aging” movement across the country, Art Thrives provides the opportunity for older audiences to learn new creative skills and build community.

In a video, Dr. Redell Hearn, Chief Educator, describes the continued impact of NOMA’s Art Thrives initiative, which offers hands-on workshops across mediums like photography, painting, ceramics, and jewelry-making inspired by current exhibitions and the museum’s permanent collection.

In addition to programs centered around art-making, the museum has also increased emphasis on the contributions of older New Orleanians through talks, panel discussions, and multi-disciplinary presentations. Last year, NOMA collaborated with Congo Square Preservation Society on the Elders Sacred Talk Series to highlight the accomplishments, lives, and work of some of our city’s most important culture bearers, artists, and thinkers. And in February, the museum celebrated the retirement of Big Chief Victor Harris of the Mandingo Warriors as an extension of the Elders Sacred Talk Series.

NOMA was one of nine prominent museums who received grants in 2022 as part of E.A. Michelson Philanthropy’s Vitality Arts Project for Art Museums. This diverse national cohort of art museums continues to develop new ways to better serve older adults and actively combat ageism through programming.

Learn more about how other museums are developing innovative approaches to creative aging: