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Traditional Arts and Creative Aging INDIANA UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR RURAL ENGAGEMENT AND TRADITIONAL ARTS INDIANA

In October 2020, Traditional Arts Indiana (TAI), in collaboration with the Indiana Center for Rural Engagement, began printing and distributing copies of a 76-page guide to traditional arts for older adults in south-central Indiana and beyond.

The team

Jon Kay is the director of TAI and an associate professor in the folklore department at IU Bloomington. Kay's research interests include Indiana folklife, material culture, and, in particular, folk arts and aging. He's written two books on the subject: The Expressive Lives of Elders and Folk Arts and Aging.

While Kay was instrumental in putting together the guide, he had assistance from a number of students, organizations, and campus and community partners.

Student field researchers include Jennie Williams, Lydia Campbell-Maher, Hunter Dux, Mickey Jo Myers, Micah Ling, and Kelly Bosworth.

Ryann Adam and Christian James were editors of the guide alongside Williams, Campbell-Maher, and Emily Bryant who also served as a graphic designer. Catherine Mullen was the archivist.

Funding for the guide came from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Center for Rural Engagement, and the Indiana Grants Commission.

Kay collaborated with Traditional Arts Today, the IU Mathers Museum, and the IU Museum of Archeology & Anthropology, and the IU Arts & Humanities Council.

The research

In 2018, with a grant from the NEA, Kay assembled a team of folklore students and began to conduct research on the traditional art and artists of south-central Indiana in hopes of producing something for elders in a state that ranks low in quality of life for older adults. He and his team traveled to six counties in the south-central Indiana region, meeting with and interviewing elder traditional artists.

After this initial step, TAI began to host dulcimer classes, memory painting workshops, and Creative Aging Summits throughout the region to have older adults come together to share their traditional art and stories and learn new types of art.

In their research and at these summits, the team collected photographs, interviews, stories, and this work ultimately culminated in the production and publishing of Memory, Art, and Aging: A Resource and Activity Guide.

"I wanted to make something that was very much about Indiana."

- Jon Kay

The guide

Included in the guide is a list of resources, activities, instructional materials, music, crafts, and 43 profiles of the elders that were interviewed initially and at the summits.

The guide's content is aimed at community-building among elders to help fight issues of loneliness, boredom, or helplessness that many older adults face, as well as generativity, the passing-on of knowledge between generations.

Despite some initial delays due to COVID-19, Kay and TAI were able to begin printing copies of the guide and distributing it to public libraries and elder care facilities throughout the state. The original plan was to continue hosting summits with the newly-printed guide, but they have been indefinitely halted due to the pandemic. However, the guide has been distributed throughout the state and is in use and well-received.

The guide is 76 pages, and is available online and physical copies can be ordered online for free.