Bishop Arts’ Silver Storytelling Circle brings seniors together to continue the opportunity for them to stay engaged by learning and sharing during art workshops. (Courtesy Photo)
The National Endowment for the Arts is awarding Bishop Arts Theatre Centeragrant of $10,000to support Silver Stories Storytelling Circle. This program is an arts education initiative combatting social isolation and loneliness that negatively affects the health of senior’s citizens. This is accomplished by actively engaging the seniors in art workshops led by the organization’s teaching artists.
“All Americans should have access to the arts,” said Mary Anne Carter, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “Grants such as this one to Bishop Arts Theatre Center are an important part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ work to ensure people in communities both large and small across the nation have the opportunity to experience the arts.”
Launched in 2018, the program is designed to stimulate the body, minds, and souls of senior citizens through creative writing, improvisation, visual art, and storytelling. Silver Stories brings senior citizens from different communities to the theatre to interact positively with each other.
Studies show social isolation and loneliness are associated with increased mortality in older adults and has been linked to adverse health effects, including dementia, increased risk for hospital readmission, and increased risk of falls. Research consistently shows that feeling connected and involved benefit both mental and physical health. Bishop Arts Theatre Center believes staying socially active helps slow cognitive decline and improve happiness for seniors in the Dallas area.
