Three Nonprofits Outline Creative Aging Programs

 WYO PLAY, The Hub on Smith and Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library will each provide Creative Aging programming in the coming months.

In October, the Wyoming Arts Council announced the recipients of the Creative Aging Project grant. The programs are designed to provide arts education and social engagement opportunities for Wyoming’s older adults.

A total of $125,000 was distributed to 20 nonprofits to develop a total of 50 eight-week programs. In Sheridan County, The Hub on Smith and the Sheridan Fulmer Public Library received $10,000 apiece. The WYO Performing Arts and Education Center received $7,500.

The Hub on Smith will provide four, eight-week choir and band programs, each with a culminating performance from participating seniors. The first round of classes will begin in January, with another set to begin in March.

Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library intends to use its funding to purchase supplies for participants, any materials needed to run the class such as objects to draw, fees for a portraiture model and to pay our teaching artist.. This fall, the library will offer workshops in drawing and watercolors. In the spring, workshops will focus on portraiture and mixed media arts.

“These classes are very important for our seniors,” said Denise Gillenwater, programming coordinator at the library. “Our society has stigmatized aging and minimized the worth of older adults. When those 60 or better participate in a Creative Aging class they are given more than just an opportunity to draw, paint or dance. They are socializing while they are developing skills, which in turn builds self-worth and a sense of purpose.”

The WYO Performing Arts and Education Center’s WYO PLAY will utilize funding to partner with The Hub on Smith and provide three spring classes — dance, poetry and theater direction.

 In addition, WYO PLAY will support The Hub’s fall melodrama put on by the Young at Heat Players. The show, “The Shame of Tombstone,” will take place at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 15 and Nov. 16 at The Hub.  

For additional information about the Creative Aging programs in Sheridan County, contact the respective nonprofits.

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