Professor Robert Meincke will teach our first course in January.
Shorehaven is partnering with the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) to bring high-level education opportunities to seniors. Through the support of a grant from the Roland G. Balg Charitable Trust, we are hiring professors from MIAD to teach six different art classes on the Shorehaven campus.
“The shift from a passive appreciation of the arts to hands-on participation is growing in popularity across senior living communities,” said Stacy Giddings, our Director of Development. “We’re embracing a nationwide movement called Creative Aging that suggests that creative expression is vital to an older adult’s quality of life.”
Our partnership with MIAD is designed to help maximize cognitive engagement and critical thinking by immersing seniors into a highly engaging learning environment. “The philosophy behind producing collegiate courses for seniors—not just crafts and entertainment—cultivates an environment to produce long-term mental wellness,” Stacy said. “Creative Aging truly helps the seniors we serve to engage in the arts and take pride in their accomplishments.”
Over the course of a year, seniors both on-and-off-campus will have an opportunity to take a college class for free here at Shorehaven. Some of the topics include acrylic painting, painting from photographs, mosaics, the art of collage, and bookbinding. Each course meets for two hours once a week for six weeks. Registration will begin in December through the Center for Life Enrichment, and the first class—Fundamentals of Drawing—will start the week of January 15, 2020. Class tuition and all art supplies are paid for by the grant.
“MIAD continually strives to serve as a creative resource for our community,” said Corbett Toomsen, MIAD’s Director of Pre-College and Continuing Education. “Through this partnership with Shorehaven, the college is thrilled to extend our Continuing Education program to Shorehaven residents to enrich their interests, encourage their creativity, and develop new skills.”
MIAD is Wisconsin’s only four-year, private college of visual art and design, offering a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Communication Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture and Design, and New Studio Practice: Fine Arts. You can learn more about their programs here.