Older adults are the target audience as museums add art programming – NOLA.com

It took nine decades, but Raymond Lewis finally got to step out on Mardi Gras Day with Black Masking Indians.

"Never in my lifetime," he said, "I didn't think I would be dressing with an Indian group."

But not only did Lewis get an invitation from Big Chief Darryl Montana to mask with the Yellow Pocahontas Hunters, Montana also taught him to sew his own suit thanks to a program at the Louisiana State Museum, which offers area seniors the chance to take weekslong classes taught by a local artist.

"I enjoyed it, really. It was very exciting," Lewis said. "It was beautiful. I enjoyed the whole business."

The program, which was made possible by a grant from the E.A. Michelson Foundation, empowers local museums to create classes specifically for seniors. When Montana, the beading program instructor, invited the now 93-year-old New Orleanian to step out on Mardi Gras day with his tribe, Lewis accepted but not without a little help. His fellow beading students stepped in, even after the program officially ended, to help Lewis complete his suit.

"It was good socializing with a lot of folks," said Lewis, who's still keeping up with his beading.

Big Chief Darryl Montana, center, and Big Queen Dianne Honor, right, both with the Yellow Pocahontas Indians, get Theodore Brown inspired to dance and sing in front of his classmates during a beading workshop at the Louisiana State Museum Cabildo in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

The LSM, which was recently awarded a third year of funding for the program through the Michelson Foundation, has so far seen more than 100 local adults cycle through its classes, many of whom have taken more than one class, said Louisiana State Museum Manager of Education Sara Lowenburg.

"We were really excited about the opportunity to dig deeper into offering programming for older adults," Lowenburg said. "It's an audience that has a lot of connections to museums and also often has a lot of barriers, in terms of access and engagement, and we're excited to explore that."

Now, arts programming for seniors in the New Orleans area will expand, thanks to the New Orleans Museum of Art's own acceptance into the E.A. Michelson Foundation's grant program. It means dozens more adults will have the chance, like Lewis, to learn something new while connecting with their community.

Working on one bead at a time at the Mardi Gras Indian-inspired bead workshop at the Louisiana State Museum Cabildo in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

"There's a huge opportunity for museums to really do so much more to open themselves up to older adults and open up those lives of older adults using the amazing collections they have but doing it in a way that lets individuals find creativity," said Theresa Bonner, the executive director of E.A. Michelson Philanthropy, a Minneapolis organization.

And that opportunity is only growing. In Louisiana in 2020, more than 16% of the population was over 65 in 2020. Nationwide, that number is expected to grow to more than 20% by 2030.

Big Chief Darryl Montana of the Yellow Pocahontas Indians helps Anna Compass make bead art at the Louisiana State Museum Cabildo in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

"This time of life, when you're older, can last for 50 years. ... It's a long period of time, and that's a big part of why we're hoping these (kinds of programs) can spread," Bonner said. "In public libraries many years ago, there weren't programs for children, and now you can't imagine a public library without children's programs."

The demand for adult arts education in New Orleans is one that Tracy Kennan was familiar with before NOMA was awarded the grant. Kennan, the museum's curator of education, said she's long gotten calls asking for exactly that kind of programming, but has never before been able to really point anyone toward the museum.

Students in a beading class look at their art on a table inside the Louisiana State Museum Cabildo in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

"I have often had to say, 'We have this family workshop, or you can look to local universities," but that's often more than what someone is looking for. They don't want a whole semester," Kennan said.

While the LSM programs, which are typically geared toward local cultural practices, like beading, drumming, poetry and printmaking, are ongoing, the classes at NOMA will start later this fall, and Kennan expects them to incorporate lessons from the museum's permanent collection and exhibitions. Though the Michelson grant will support the program for two years, like Lowenburg, she hopes to see them become a local museum staple.

"There are a lot of people out there looking for lifelong learning opportunities, and we want to be a place for lifelong learning," Kennan said. "We want people to look to the museum as a place for that."

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Older adults are the target audience as museums add art programming - NOLA.com