From successful ageing to creative ageing

Creative ageing research is an extension of the study of successful ageing (Rowe and Kahn, Reference Rowe and Kahn1987, Reference Rowe and Kahn1997; Jang, Reference Jang2007). In recent years, creative ageing research has focused on the impact of performing creative tasks on the ageing process, with heightened interest in the positive relationship between arts activities and ageing. Ageing is now considered to be a process of determining one's own meaning of life (Wong, Reference Wong1989; Carlsen, Reference Carlsen, Neimeyer and Mahoney1995) and adapting to physical, emotional and social changes (Wong, Reference Wong1989; Oh, Reference Oh2004), rather than a degradation of body functions. It is critical that older adults, which includes both pre-seniors and seniors (also referred to here as ‘pre-elders’ and ‘elders’), are able to positively embrace the potential capabilities of old age and use them as a resource to connect to productive activities (Carlsen, Reference Carlsen, Neimeyer and Mahoney1995; Choi, Reference Choi2014). When ageing adults perform the creative tasks accessible to them, it can reveal the life wisdom they have gained (Fisher and Specht, Reference Fisher and Specht1999; Oh, Reference Oh2004; Choi, Reference Choi2014; McHugh, Reference McHugh2016). Many factors contribute to successful ageing, such as a life of feeling self-efficacy, a life of satisfaction through the success of children, a life of partnership between a couple, and a life of good self-control (Kim et al., Reference Kim, Shin, Choi and Kang2005). A deep respect for cultural values also enables older adults to positively conceptualise ageing (An et al., Reference An, Chong, Jeong, Seo and Cooney2011).

Rowe and Kahn's successful ageing model study (Rowe and Kahn, Reference Rowe and Kahn1987, Reference Rowe and Kahn1997) is a representative study that has wide academic influence even after 30 years. The three elements of successful ageing that Rowe and Kahn noted are: (a) no disease or disability; (b) adequate maintenance of physical and cognitive functions; and (c) an active life. Rowe and Kahn observe that the path to successful ageing is to keep these three elements in harmony. Their study is considered representative of multi-disciplinary approaches to ageing, including work in biology, neuroscience, neuropsychology, phenomenology, sociology, psychology, neurology, physiology and gerontology. It is also the model study for the concept of multi-dimensional ageing, which necessitates participating in social production activities in addition to maintaining physical and cognitive functions (Jang, Reference Jang2007).

Cohen et al. (Reference Cohen, Perlstein, Chapline, Kelly, Firth and Simmens2006) and Hanna and Perlstein (Reference Hanna and Perlstein2008) published important studies in response to a growing social awareness of the need for creative ageing. The study, ‘The impact of professionally conducted cultural programs on the physical health, mental health, and social functioning of older adults’, by Cohen et al. (Reference Cohen, Perlstein, Chapline, Kelly, Firth and Simmens2006) is rooted in medical research that suggests ageing does not lead to the degeneration of the human nervous system. Cohen et al. (Reference Cohen, Perlstein, Chapline, Kelly, Firth and Simmens2006) collected three years of quantitative data on older adult participants while professionally running arts programmes in nursing facilities. Their conclusion that arts participation positively impacts life in old age supports the creative ageing paradigm. There are three implications of his research in creative ageing. First, it is critical in understanding creative ageing to analyse the physical, emotional and social dimensions of elder's lives. Second, the statistical data analysis of Cohen et al. (Reference Cohen, Perlstein, Chapline, Kelly, Firth and Simmens2006) was a quantitative intervention into the creative ageing field in which qualitative research has been prevalent (Larson and Perlstein, Reference Larson and Perlstein2003). Third, their study is based on observations of an ongoing professionally planned and run arts programme conducted in a nursing home for older adults, which means that many of the participants had considerable artistic experience and existing relationships with the facilitators. This speaks to the importance of the connection between participants and facilitators in our own study.

Meanwhile, in 2008 Hanna and Perlstein published their joint research project, ‘Creativity matters: arts and aging in America’, which discussed practical issues tackled through creative ageing (Hanna and Perlstein, Reference Hanna and Perlstein2008). Hanna (Reference Hanna2013) also discussed the basic concepts of creative tasks and arts participation in old age, and creative ageing through arts participation in the study, ‘The central role of creative aging’. Hanna proposes that creative activity can relieve the stresses of ageing and, indeed, sees the creativity displayed in old age as an ‘asset’. This suggests the value of breaking away from the traditional view of ageing as loss and deficiency, and embracing creative expressions of the wisdom that often comes with age. Hanna recognises the social capital that can accrue to elders or pre-elders through creative activities as a paradigm shift from understanding older adults as those who consume to seeing them as active participants in the production of social value. At the same time, her research reveals a lack of opportunities and programmes to demonstrate and develop such creativity among older adults (Hanna, Reference Hanna2013).

Categorisation of creative ageing studies: target group, arts activities and benefits

Prior research on arts activities and creative ageing in old age has focused on identifying and confirming the positive effects of arts participation in the latter half of life. Most of these studies were conducted in three main categories: (a) target groups; (b) arts activities; and (c) the benefits of arts participation. Within these categories, existing studies have been centred on a specific area or the relationship between areas, especially between the wellbeing of people in their later lives and the arts activities themselves. The report by Jeffri et al. (Reference Jeffri, Spiller, Heckathorn and Simon2007), Above Ground: Information on Artists III: Special Focus New York City Ageing Artists, is a representative study of professional artists. For 146 vocational artists aged 62 or older living in New York City (median age of 72.2), they were found to have high artistic maturity, artistic achievement and life satisfaction by both quantitative and qualitative measures.

The first category of creative ageing research, the target group, can be divided into two subcategories: those who voluntarily participate in artistic activities for pleasure and those who participate in artistic activities for treatment. So far, creative ageing research has focused on the former, or people who have long engaged in artistic activities as vocational artists, amateur artists and arts lovers. In particular, the lives of professional-level amateur artists or professional artists who are actively engaged in creative activities in old age have been investigated (Jeffri et al., Reference Jeffri, Spiller, Heckathorn and Simon2007; Noice et al., Reference Noice, Noice and Kramer2014; Gallistl, Reference Gallistl2021). More recently, studies that look at older adults who participate in arts programmes for treatment, such as those living in nursing homes or those with dementia, have become increasingly common in creative ageing research (Lowry, Reference Lowry2017; National Institute on Aging, 2019; Robertson and McCall, Reference Robertson and McCall2020; Hendriks et al., Reference Hendriks, Meiland, Gerritsen and Dröes2021; Hughes et al., Reference Hughes, Baseman, Hearne, Lie, Smith and Woodsin press). The subjects of these studies are mostly groups of older adults attending arts programmes offered by the facility they live in or receiving arts therapy with medical doctors' recommendations. Medical research that collects data from older adult patients through participation in arts activities or research that attempts to achieve therapeutic effects through arts activities is an emerging field of creative ageing research (Cohen et al., Reference Cohen, Perlstein, Chapline, Kelly, Firth and Simmens2006; Greaves and Farbus, Reference Greaves and Farbus2006; Sonke et al., Reference Sonke, Rollins, Brandman and Graham-Pole2009; Lowry, Reference Lowry2017).

The second category, artistic activities, includes vocational artists' old-age creative activities, professional-level amateur artists' activities and various arts participation activities by arts lovers. For example, there are studies of an amateur senior orchestra (MacRitchie and Garrido, Reference MacRitchie and Garrido2019), musical tastes (Harrison and Ryan, Reference Harrison and Ryan2010), textual and craft activities (Kenning, Reference Kenning2015), old-age fandom (Harrington, Reference Harrington2018), arts museum experiences (Thongnopnua, Reference Thongnopnua2015) and a museum volunteer programme (Park and Chang, Reference Park and Chang2017). The studies of arts programmes in senior centres with therapeutic purposes and arts programmes designed for dementia prevention and treatment (Greaves and Farbus, Reference Greaves and Farbus2006; Sonke et al., Reference Sonke, Rollins, Brandman and Graham-Pole2009; Lowry, Reference Lowry2017; Dewey and Sonke, Reference Dewey and Sonke2019; Robertson and McCall, Reference Robertson and McCall2020; Hendriks et al., Reference Hendriks, Meiland, Gerritsen and Dröes2021; Hughes et al., Reference Hughes, Baseman, Hearne, Lie, Smith and Woodsin press) also fall under this category. Recently, discussions surrounding the need for a professional group specialising in these programmes (Throsby and Zednik, Reference Throsby and Zednik2011; Dewey and Sonke, Reference Dewey and Sonke2019; Robertson and McCall, Reference Robertson and McCall2020) have also begun.

The last category, the benefits of arts participation, can be divided into two subcategories: the benefits to the individual (in emotional, cognitive and social expansion) and the benefits to society (in the aesthetic, cultural, social and political realms). Earlier studies have looked at the physical, emotional and social benefits of arts participation on an individual's wellbeing (Cohen et al., Reference Cohen, Perlstein, Chapline, Kelly, Firth and Simmens2006; An et al., Reference An, Chong, Jeong, Seo and Cooney2011): physical benefits include both improvements to and maintenance of physical and cognitive function; emotional benefits appear in more significant or improved self-expression and self-realisation; and the social benefits elders experience come through increased contact and connection with others. The systematic literature review of prior research related to creative ageing and arts participation by Noice et al. (Reference Noice, Noice and Kramer2014) has also focused on these three benefits to individuals. Meanwhile, the benefits of the arts for society have been actively discussed in the literature, but discussions on the social value of artistic engagement for older adults has focused on theoretical and comprehensive perspectives such as enhanced individual welfare (McCarthy et al., Reference McCarthy, Ondaatje, Zakaras and Brooks2001) and productivity later in life (Carlsen, Reference Carlsen, Neimeyer and Mahoney1995; Jang, Reference Jang2007; Hanna, Reference Hanna2013; Choi, Reference Choi2014). Therefore, examining the general benefits that the arts bring to society could be a theoretical ground for exploring older adults' arts participation and its extended benefits to the community. First, the social value of the arts can be discussed as a spillover effect, effectively spreading out individual benefits into society. This suggests that the increased individual life welfare leads to expanded social participation and the cultivation of a sense of community (Matarasso, Reference Matarasso1997; McCarthy et al., Reference McCarthy, Ondaatje, Zakaras and Brooks2001; Holden, Reference Holden2006; National Endowment for the Arts, 2012). McCarthy et al. (Reference McCarthy, Ondaatje, Zakaras and Brooks2001) also looked at both benefits and saw them as components of the ‘instrumental’ value of the arts in their report, Gifts of the Muse, in which they suggest a dual frame of the instrumental and intrinsic value of the arts. They also mentioned community-level wellbeing as a social value that can be expected from participation in the arts (McCarthy et al., Reference McCarthy, Ondaatje, Zakaras and Brooks2001). From an instrumental point of view, Holden (Reference Holden2006) also discussed the social good, transformative power and broader public value that may arise from the arts. Second, there are some discussions of creative ways in which the arts can contribute to mitigating societal problems, notably social exclusion, through the intrinsically inclusive values arts disciplines often enact (Holden, Reference Holden2006; Yang and Shim, Reference Yang and Shim2007; Yang et al., Reference Yang, Kim and Yoon2019). In this vein, Yang and Shim (Reference Yang and Shim2007) explained that arts participation could help resolve social problems because the arts can promote personal happiness, along with arts education, health and wellbeing, community cohesion, conscious civic participation, social capital and awareness of place.

Lacunae in extant research

In this literature review, we have identified two lacunae in the body of creative ageing studies. First, previous studies do not investigate the experience of pre-seniors and seniors who were not previously artistically active, focusing instead on people already engaged in the arts. Second, the process of initiating arts activities with potential participants is not discussed. Older adults who do not regularly participate in artistic activities have received little to no attention and, surprisingly, there has yet to be a study exploring the transition of older adults who had never been involved in arts activities but began to show an interest in them as they aged.

Segmentation of the target group for creative ageing

Target group segmentation must be adequately defined in order to set the foundation for an accurate discussion of creative ageing, especially given that we are targeting older adults who do not participate in arts activities. It is the first of three research questions in this study, and it also provides the theoretical basis for including a group that does not participate in artistic activities.

In general, it is essential to set a segmentation variable before analysing results since the final results may vary depending on how the variables have been set (Jo and Lee, Reference Jo and Lee2017, Reference Jo and Lee2018). However, a suitable variable for the target group classification for creative ageing was not found in the literature. We found some research in the tourist field that attempted segmentation of senior consumer groups from a marketing perspective (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2012; J Kim Reference Kim2013). In the work of J Kim (Reference Kim2013), which used survey data of senior tourists aged 55 or older from the Korea Tourism Organization, tourist classification had already been applied to a specific group of senior citizens. However, in the field of arts and cultural management, no attempts to create group segmentation of older adults were found. We found little academic interest in identifying various factors that divide the older adults into subgroups. Any diversity within older adult group classifications from previous studies is limited to gender, age and economic standing. Thus, for future studies, older adults must not be considered a homogeneous group with a single trait (Jang, Reference Jang2007; An et al., Reference An, Chong, Jeong, Seo and Cooney2011). When it comes to subdividing the target group for creative ageing, it is also vital to select segmentation variables. The stage of life and whether participants wish to or have participated in the arts were the variables of segmentation that we used to classify the target group for creative ageing.

The horizontal axis in Figure 2 considers the age of target groups for creative ageing and divides them into ‘pre-senior’ and ‘senior’ (or ‘pre-elder’ and ‘elder’). We added the pre-senior group for the creative ageing target according to the widening age target for the older population. With an increasing social interest in the ageing population, pre-seniors aged below 65 have begun to be distinguished from seniors above that age. However, the classification is not clear, can include people in their forties and fifties, and does not always follow chronological age. Until now, creative ageing research has been focused on artistic activities for people aged 70 or older.

Figure 2.

Target segmentation for creative ageing.

With these stages in mind, our second segmentation variable is introduced – the degree of previous arts participation. The vertical axis of Figure 2 divides those who are self-motivated participants in the arts and those who are not. All populations in later life are regarded as the target group for creative ageing. All within the target group, barring those who voluntarily participate in artistic activities, are defined as the ‘potential participants group’. This distinction places the marginalised ‘potential participants group’ at the centre of research interest, preparing the basis for expanding creative ageing research on older adults. While earlier studies have only concentrated on self-motivated senior groups, our study looked at the potential participants, particularly pre-senior adults. We contend that the cultural right (Boyer, Reference Boyer2010; UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2012) of everyone to enjoy arts and culture can be the catalyst to bring potential participants to active creative ageing.

The arts participation model

Brown (Reference Brown2004, Reference Brown2006) presents a five-step arts participation model, which assumes that the level of arts participation increases linearly with the degree of creative control in arts activities. This model provides two theoretical bases for our study: first, an explanation for the progress in arts participation within our potential participants' group; and second, an understanding of ambient involvement, which is when participants experience the arts by chance rather than choice. Potential participants for our study are selected because they are in the ambient participation stage. We can then track their experience as they choose to increase the frequency, depth and diversity of their artistic activities per Brown's model (Brown, Reference Brown2004, Reference Brown2006). Brown's theory is useful for framing the transition between the beginning of a participant's artistic activities and any continuations in their journey that deepens their relationship with the arts.

During the arts workshop, we found that Brown's arts participation model did not fit with our potential participants' arts participation. First, when applying Brown's five-stage model, level distinctions are often ambiguous. Thus, we designed a more appropriate three-stage model derived from the five-stage one: (a) potential or ambient participation; (b) appreciation; and (c) creation. Brown also suggested that arts participation proceeds through the stages in a linear fashion. However, the potential participants we worked with demonstrated a dynamic relationship with the stages, often cycling through them reiteratively (Figure 3).

Figure 3.

Brown's arts participation model (Brown, Reference Brown2004, Reference Brown2006) and modification to our model.

Prior to Brown, McCarthy and Jinnett (Reference McCarthy and Jinnett2001) presented a different arts participation model of four stages in A New Framework for Building Participation in the Arts. Their arts participation model consists of four steps: background, awareness, decision and experience. In this model, arts participation connects pre- and post-experiences into a single flow, beginning with personal and social background factors that predispose individuals to involve themselves in artistic activities. Influenced by personal beliefs and social conventions, participants form an awareness of (or attitude towards) arts participation, which later drives their decision to participate in artistic activities. This decision then leads to the experience of participating in and responding to artistic activities. This cycle, from awareness to experience, is then repeated with other artistic endeavours (McCarthy and Jinnett, Reference McCarthy and Jinnett2001).

Hanna (Reference Hanna2013) classified the forms of arts participation in old age as: (a) beginning participation; (b) returning participation; and (c) lifelong participation. Beginning participation applies to older adults who start their artistic activities with high enthusiasm for self-expression and artistic creation as they enter their older years. Folk artists are representative since they often explain that they share their values and beliefs through self-expression and by producing new creations. Returning participation refers to those who were involved in artistic activities at a younger age and, having stopped these activities due to personal or work reasons, returned to them in old age. For them, reopening their artistic sides creates meaning in their lives by allowing them to revisit moments of joy from the past. Finally, lifelong participants have engaged in creative activities throughout their lives, as professional or serious amateur artists. Creative activity is an integral part of their lives, both professionally and personally.

The analytical framework

Our framework for this study uses the three categories of existing research we identified in target groups, arts participation and benefits (see Figure 4). Based on these categories, we segment the creative ageing target population. This enabled us to adapt a modified version of Brown's five-category arts participation model and thereby compensate for the limitations of existing studies, which do not include potential participants. Thus, we derive an analytical framework that will be used for action research with our potential participants as they engage in arts activities.

Figure 4.

The analytical framework from the literature review.

Facilitating: a key element in arts participation

Our most significant finding was gained through developing a deeper understanding of facilitation: what a facilitator does, how facilitation works and when it is no longer needed. When face-to-face arts activities halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the power a facilitator has to potentiate participants' experiences stood out in stark relief. Ironically, the facilitator's importance only became apparent once they could neither play a facilitating role nor proceed with the planned arts workshops due to participants' concerns about the virus and legal restrictions in Korea on groups larger than four.

Facilitating is essential to focusing participants' engagement in the arts. By understanding participants' interests and past experiences, facilitators link them, rewarding artistic activities in which they can easily engage and immerse themselves. Participation in the arts entails an adaptation to the new environments and conditions of artistic activities. A facilitator performs various roles, such as being the mediator, the discoverer of the issue or the recorder (Ha, Reference Ha2016). Fostering digital literacy among seniors is a concrete example of a significant challenge through which facilitators can guide participants. In the field of adult education, facilitators play a broad role in fuelling group energy, motivating individual students, planning strategic programmes, giving effective feedback, problem-solving, analysing demands, forming partnerships, spurring ongoing self-development, promoting learning, etc. They are also responsible for eliciting critical reflection among learners (Baek and Lee, Reference Baek and Lee2012). The common denominator is acting as a bridge that encourages meaningful facilitator–participant as well as participant–participant connections.

In this study, the overarching goal of multi-faceted facilitation is to lead to self-motivated arts participation among potential participants. Facilitating arts workshops for potential participants should continue until the participants are able to pursue arts activities on their own. We suggest three roles for the facilitation of potential participants' arts participation for creative ageing: (a) bridging life and artistic activities; (b) bridging familiarity and change; and (c) bridging occasional arts activity to regular self-motivated arts participation.

Potential participant group: the initiation and continuation of arts activities

By monitoring participants' decision-making processes prior to their voluntary participation in the arts workshops, we found that their expectations of the programme's benefits were key in determining their participation. Just as the benefits of arts participation are divided into social, emotional and physical benefits, so are the decision factors. We found that, initially, the acquisition of social capital and the prospect of socialising with others was the primary driver of decisions to participate in the arts (Reynolds, Reference Reynolds2012, Reference Reynolds2015; Hanna, Reference Hanna2013). All the participants anticipated socialising during the workshops. One participant mentioned that she was determined to come to the workshop despite her worries about art because the workshop was ‘a chance to meet people and spend time together’. On the morning of the art history lecture, the second session during the initial workshop series, a participant had even called to say she would prepare lunch for everyone – handmade dumpling soup. Everyone enjoyed the lunch and expressed their appreciation for the dish, recognising the participant for her cooking skills and enhancing the sense of community and intimacy between the participants. Participation in arts activities in later life is greatly influenced by relationships between family members, relatives and friends, but also broader social relationships (Reynolds, Reference Reynolds2012; Hanna, Reference Hanna2013). As shown in Putnam's (Reference Putnam1995) research, social capital defined by the characteristics of social organisations, social relationships, norms and social trust that are the basis for co-operation and mutual benefit, affects the decision to participate in art. Social factors, such as relationships with other participants and the formation of social capital, also played an essential role in the workshop experience. Research on the involvement of arts activity programmes in older adults' classrooms also shows that psychological welfare is higher for a group that continues social exchange programmes after being immersed in the programme (Cho and Lee, Reference Cho and Lee2013).

Cultural capital was another motivating factor for participants. As participants gained background knowledge and skills with the workshop content, they accrued cultural capital. During the arts history workshop, participants expressed joy in being exposed to new artworks and appreciated expanding their cultural competency. For example, when viewing the evocative female imagery of a Georgia O'Keeffe painting, participants were impressed by the ability to express a new visual feeling through flowers. The instructor also responded to participants' interests in gardening by preparing garden stories and using illustrations by Tasha Tudor. Thus, participants learned that daily gardening activities could be artistic and a source of creative satisfaction as well as cultural capital. After the museum exhibition visits in the second phase of workshops, some participants used the exhibition group photo we took together for their social media profile pictures, reflecting their desire to be recognised for their appreciation of the arts.

If these various social reasons initially spurred our potential participants to engage in arts activities, the joyful arts experience fuelled their continued participation. For instance, after completing the first few workshops, the participants showed tremendous excitement for future activities. One participant said that she expected ‘her forgotten artistic sensibility to come alive’, while another said, ‘I want an opportunity to do something’. Expectations of emotional enjoyment from engagement with the arts were an important decision factor. Although growth in social relationships was a decisive factor when participants set their mind to attend the workshops, emotional joys from the activities themselves eventually became a greater priority. Interestingly, this shift's timing varied among participants; some began to find joy in hands-on creative work during the first workshop, while others felt discomfort with the activities in the first stage but later came to enjoy the process. Not surprisingly, the level of enthusiasm and comfort varied among participants.

However, it is worth noting that no one mentioned physical benefits during this study. Perhaps, since all participants were well-functioning pre-seniors in their fifties and sixties with no particular health issues, physical benefits were not relevant to their experience or needs.

Impact: driving change in individual lives and creating social value

Participation in arts activities in later life has a positive impact on the process of ageing by both changing individual lives and contributing to social value. While conducting the workshops, we observed that the vitality individual participants gained from their artistic activities was not restricted to the individual, but affected their families, neighbours and communities. We also saw that the process of facilitating arts participation for the participants could be an opportunity to form intergenerational relationships between participants, facilitators and instructors. Beyond this, effective facilitation helped these pre-seniors adapt to a rapidly changing society, countering social exclusion problems with cultural competency (Holden, Reference Holden2006; Yang et al., Reference Yang, Kim and Yoon2019). Through our action research, we found that there are two layers of benefits from arts participation: emotional, cognitive and social benefits to the individual; and aesthetic, cultural, social and political benefits to the society at large (McCarthy et al., Reference McCarthy, Ondaatje, Zakaras and Brooks2001; Cohen et al., Reference Cohen, Perlstein, Chapline, Kelly, Firth and Simmens2006; An et al., Reference An, Chong, Jeong, Seo and Cooney2011; National Endowment for the Arts, 2012; O'Shea and Léime, Reference O'Shea and Léime2012; Noice et al., Reference Noice, Noice and Kramer2014).

As people age, they too often experience a decline in their quality of life and begin to question what their lives mean. However, as our potential participants group went through the process of creative ageing in our workshops, they experienced enhanced wellbeing from a positive re-evaluation of their lives and their relationships with others. The social connections, arts participation and additional emotional support they gained from creative engagement yielded a deeper understanding of their lifecourses and helped them meet the challenges of old age (Reynolds, Reference Reynolds2012; Cho and Lee, Reference Cho and Lee2013). They realised that life with the arts is qualitatively different than life without. Thus, it is crucial for arts facilitators to provide holistic and persistent support to potential participants as they remake their understanding of their lives.

Just as arts participation vitalises individuals (McCarthy et al., Reference McCarthy, Ondaatje, Zakaras and Brooks2001), it generates social value by allowing older adults to contribute to a greater social realisation of our human potential. One of our workshop instructors observed, ‘Through arts participation, seniors and pre-seniors can not only raise their own energy level but show us a vision of a community of creative production.’ The enhanced vitality older adults gain from arts participation overflows into a positive influence on their wider communities, and the resulting realisation of human potential in turn leads to the creation of social value and improved community wellbeing. In this sense, pre-seniors are particularly important as they have access to productive resources that enable them to more directly contribute to creating social value. Furthermore, the process of engaging older adults in artistic activities itself can create inclusive value through forming intergenerational relationships and facilitating adaptation to social changes. Thus, promoting creative endeavour through older adults' arts participation enhances benefit to society at large.

The arts participation model for creative ageing

Based on our literature review and our analysis of our action research findings, we mapped the above processes on to our research framework and constructed the ‘arts participation model for creative ageing’ (see Figure 5). This model maps not only the arts participation of potential participants but also the flow of social value as short-term benefits to individuals lead to long-term positive impacts on the wellbeing of participants' communities and the wider society. Effective facilitation is critical to the success of this process.

Figure 5.

The arts participation model for creative ageing.