The Impact of ART CART: SAVING THE LEGACY,
an Intergenerational, Interdisciplinary
Program for Older Adult Professional Artists
Victoria Rizzo, Ph.D., LCSW-R
Chair & Associate Professor, Department of Social Work
College of Community & Public Affairs, Binghamton University
NCCA – June 11, 2014
ART CART |
Background
Research Center for Arts & Culture (RCAC), 2007
Above Ground: Information on Artists III: Special Focus New York City Aging Artists
61% - no preparation for their work after death 95% - did not archive their work
97% - no estate plan 3 out of 4 - no will
1 in 5 - no documentation of work at all
52% report health to be much worse than a year ago 34% state health limits their productivity which is “disappointing and frustrating”
50% live alone
ART CART |
Mission
•
Provide professional aging artists with direct, hands-on support and guidance to manage and preserve their life’s work•
Provide fellows with an intergenerational, educational experience and mentorship in the documentation of artistic and cultural legacy•
Establish a fine-tuned and replicable process so that other institutions nationwide can undertake similar efforts in their communitiesART CART | PHASES I & II
Phase I: ART CART launched at Columbia University
Duration of pilot project: fall 2010 – spring 2011 12 fellows from a variety of Columbia University
departments and schools
6 aging NY-based visual artists
Phase II: ART CART continued in NYC and Washington, DC
2012 – 2013
20 fellows from several universities
10 aging artists from multiple disciplines in each city
ART CART | Phase III:
Model for National Replication
5Phase III: A four-site model for national replication
NYC
Washington, DC
In discussion: Ithaca-Binghamton, NY
ART CART
|
Interdepartmental Structure
Research Center for Arts & Culture National Center for Creative Aging
Prof. Joan Jeffri
6
NYC
DC
• Prof. Sherburne Laughlin American Univ. Arts Administration • Dr. Daniel Kerr American Univ. Oral History • Dr. Pamela Lawton Corcoran College of Art & Design • Dr. Felecia Banks Howard Univ. Occupational Therapy• Prof. Janet Falk-Kessler • Dr. Patricia Miller, Consultant Columbia Univ. College of Physicians and Surgeons • Dr. Victoria Rizzo Columbia Univ. School of Social Work • Dr. Judith Burton • Liza Zapol, Oral
History Consultant
Teachers College Art
ART CART
|
Fellows’ Disciplines
7 • Arts Management • Oral History American University • Art Education Corcoran College of Art & Design• Occupational Therapy • Studio Art • Psychology • Fine Arts Howard University • Acupuncture Tai Sophia Institute • Social Work • Occupational Therapy • Art Columbia University • Museum Management Montclair State University • Visual Arts Administration • Occupational Therapy • Musical Studies New York University
• Arts & Cultural Management Pratt Institute • Fine Arts The New School
NYC
DC
ART CART |
Team Players
Components / Team Players
Professional visual artists – 62+, metro area, lifetime making art
Artists’ working partners
Fellows – health/aging & arts disciplines
Intergenerational, Interdisciplinary, Interprofessional
•
Service learning in artists’ community/work environments•
Interdisciplinary teamwork•
Adult learning•
Collaborative/participatory action research•
Health promotion•
Secondary prevention9
Conceptual Frameworks
Guiding Intervention
ART CART |
Research
Intervention Group: 10 participating artists in NYC; 9 in DC Control Group: 10 artists who applied but were not included in ART CART in NYC;10 in DC
• Social isolation vs. inclusion and engagement
• Morale depression continuum vs. self-esteem
• Role and activity limitations-dependency vs. activity-productivity
• Risk for falls-unsafe function vs. safe function in environment
• One or more negative factors above vs. positive aging
10
Parallel Research Project
Background
•
The study examines the effectiveness of the ART CART program on the psychosocial well-being and safe functioning of older adult professional artists•
The intervention group of artists participating in ART CART was compared with a matched control group of artists interested in participating even though they were not selected for program inclusionMethods
•
Data were collected in three 90- to 120-minute interviews at: Baseline (January 2013) Post-test (May/June 2013)
Follow-up: 6 months after completing program (in progress)
Artists received $60 gift cards at baseline and post-test and $70 gift cards at follow up
•
Artists completed questionnaires consisting of background information, assessments, and outcome measures of : Morale/depression (positive aging) Social isolation (social inclusion)
Productivity/activity levels (productivity)
ART CART
| Assessments
•
GEM: Gerontological Environment
Modifications
(Bakker, 2010)
•
The Falls Interview Schedule
(FIS)
(Berkman & Miller, 2004–2005)
ART CART
| Measures
•
Geriatric Depression Scale (Yesavage & Brink, 1983)•
Philadelphia Morale Scale (Lawton, M.P., 1975)•
Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Ferguson, 1980)•
Activity Card Sort (ACS) (Baum & Edwards, 2008)•
Timed Up & Go (Podsiadlo, D., & Richardson S., 1991)•
Activities Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC Scale) (Powell, I.E., & Myers, A.M., 1995)Baseline Sample Characteristics
•
35 participants 19 in New York City (9 ART CART, 10 control group)
16 in Washington D.C. (9 ART CART, 7 control group)
Total Sample Descriptives (n = 35) • Mean age = 78 years
• 77.1% identified as female; 22.9% as male
• 62.9% identified as White; 20.0% as Black/African American/Negro; 2.9% as Hispanic/Latino; 17.1% as other
• Most were native English speakers (88.6%) born in the United States (91.4%) who held at least a bachelor’s degree (82.8%)
• 68.8% of artists earned a masters degree/professional degree/Ph.D.; 18.8% earned a Bachelor’s degree; 6.3% had a H.S. diploma; and 6.1% did not have a
Statements Regarding Art (n = 35)
•
100% of participants considered themselves to be artists.•
More than 75 % of artists agreed with the following statements: The main body of my activity is some form of art (94.7%) I have a demonstrated record of exhibition, performances,
installations, publications, or other evidence of my art (94.7%) I have been formally trained/educated as an artist (84.2%)
My main priority is to make art (78.9%)
Only 15.8% of artists agreed with the following statement, “ I make a living as an artist.”
Data Collection & Analysis
The overall retention rate from baseline to follow-up was 74.3%, meaning 26 of the 35 artists completed all three interviews.
Mixed ANOVA repeated measures analyses with BonferroniCorrection post hoc tests were used to examine the impact of ART CART on the following outcome measures: Geriatric Depression Scale, Philadelphia Morale Scale, Revised UCLA Loneliness
Scale, Activity Card Sort, ABC Confidence Scale, the Activity Card Sort, and Timed Up & Go.:
Findings: Outcome Measures
Significant findings were revealed for:
1)
the Geriatric Depression Scale.. However, this finding was not relevant since scores in both groups were below 2; and,2)
the Activity Card Sort (ACS) social activities subscale andcurrent activity global score. Scores on both of these decreased significantly for the ART CART group, but only decreased
slightly for control group. This finding suggests that artists social activities decreased after participation in ART CART.
Findings: Assessments
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The Falls Interview Schedule: Artists in both groups had fallen or were at risk of falling during the course of the study. Nearly half of the participants in both groups had fallen in the last year and more than a third of participants in both groups reported they had almost fallen. Over the three measurement periods, the percentage of those reporting they had fallen in the control group decreased much more dramatically than in the ART CART group.
Gerontological Environment Modifications: assessed safe functioning of artists in their studios as well as to identify artists in need of occupational therapy to address safety issues in their studios Two artists in the NYC ART group benefitted from two sessions each with an occupational therapist. Improved safe functioning was revealed for 14 areas, including several related directly to ART CART: storage of art work; selecting art works for documentation, wearing proper foot wear while making art; and having adequate room for easels.
Implications & Lessons Learned
Implications
The lack of significant findings is likely due to ceiling effects. The artists in both groups were very high functioning at baseline on all of the measures. Therefore, there was little room for improvement.
Self-selection of artists to participate in ART CART also likely contributed to lack of findings.
Lessons Learned
Best outcome measures may not have been selected. Also, need to focus on measuring strengths not deficits.
Learned a great deal about the coordination necessary for a research project in multiple sites.
Need a clearly identified research team for next round of research.
ART CART
| Next Steps
A multiple-site model for national replication
NYC
Washington, DC
In discussion: Ithaca-Binghamton, NY More rural
Parallel Research Project informed by lessons learned and input from ART CART sites
ART CART
| Acknowledgements
The following research partners contributed to this power point presentation:
Joan Jeffri, Director, Research Center for Arts & Culture, National Center for Creative Aging;
Dr. Patricia A. Miller, Special Research Scientist, Columbia University
“Art is a way of future knowing.”
- ART CART artist Betty Blayton
24
“This is the first time artists can
write their own history.”
- Artist's working partner
Ting Olatunji
For more information, contact: Joan Jeffri, Director
Research Center for Arts & Culture National Center for Creative Aging
4125 Albemarle Street NW Washington, DC 20016 202-895-9456
www.creativeaging.org/rcac [email protected]
