List members may be interested in this new book, currently available with over 15% savings. Full details may be found at: www.museumsetc.com/products/the-caring-museum

"Ageing is a part of our individual and demographic future. Museums can help us imagine new ideas about ageing and new ways of caring."

In this important new book, leading museum and gallery professionals in the UK, USA, Europe and Australasia share their experience and provide insights on how to respond to the changes which population ageing brings. This is NOT a passive collection of positive stories but one which recognizes the ups and downs of making the effort to engage with older people. 

Ageing is often depicted as being all about decline – mental, physical, personal, institutional and social – with little or nothing beneficial in the equation. Yet the reality is much more positive, complex, and nuanced. Museums and galleries have long understood that older age does not automatically negate our capacity for creativity, engagement and contribution.

This substantial new 450-page book, with over 60 colour illustrations, includes the following chapters:

Preface

Dr Peter J Whitehouse, Professor of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland and Professor of Medicine (Neurology), University of Toronto

Introduction

Hamish Robertson

1. PARTICIPATION

Working with Older Women Without Families

Eszter Biro, Petofi Museum of Literature, Budapest

Involving Seniors at The Cleveland Museum of Art: Multiple Perspectives

Dale Hilton, Director of Teaching and Learning with Karen Levinsky, Trina Prufer & LeAnne Stuver, Cleveland Museum of Art

Artifact Stories: Making Memories Matter

Elizabeth Sharpe, Public Historian and Museum Educator & Marla Miller, Director, Public History Program, UMass Amherst 

Museums, Memories and Well-Being: How Reminiscence Activities Benefit the Museum and the Community

Helen Fountain, Reminiscence Officer, Museum of Oxford

2. VOLUNTEERING

Perceptions of Our Museum: Older Adult Experience as Volunteers

Ann Rowson Love, Assistant Professor of Museum Education and Exhibitions, Florida State University & Maureen Thomas-Zaremba, Curator of Education, Ringling Museum

Changing Rooms: The Volunteer Contribution at Montacute House

Sonja Power, House and Collections Manager, National Trust (South Somerset)

A Blind Date with Sculptures: Older People as Contributors in Art Programs

Sybille Kastner, Deputy Director of Art Education, Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg

Material Culture and Memories: Industrial Heritage Volunteer Projects  

Fiona Kinsey, Senior Curator of Image Collections & Liza Dale-Hallett, Senior Curator Sustainable Futures, Museum Victoria, Australia

3. CARING

The Museum as a Site of Caring and Regeneration for People Living with Dementia

Susan Shifrin, Founding Director, ARTZ Philadelphia

Engaging with Art, Engaging with People

Ronna Tulgan Ostheimer, Director of Adult, School and Community Programs with Sharon Lazerson, Peter Mehlin and Lydia Littlefield, Clark Art Institute, MA

Intergenerational Teaching and Learning in the Museum

Jessica Sack, Senior Associate Curator of Public Education, Yale University Art Gallery

Self-Caring in Later Life

Tine Fristrup, Associate Professor, Department of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark

4. STRATEGY

Museums and Social Prescribing: Policy Impact on Community Referral in the UK 

Helen Chatterjee, Senior Lecturer in Biological Sciences & Linda Thomson, Senior Research Associate, UCL Public and Cultural Engagement, University College London

Momentum: Developing Age-Friendly Manchester, Age-Friendly Culture and Age-Friendly Museums 

Esme Ward, Head of Learning and Engagement, Manchester Museum and The Whitworth & Andrea Winn, Curator of Community Exhibitions, Manchester Museum, University of Manchester

The CACE Framework: A Strategy for Art Museums to Thrive and Sustain in an Ageing World

Ta-Sitthiporn Thongnopnua, Florida State University

The Political Value of Museums in Dementia Care

Kerry Wilson, Head of Research, Institute of Cultural Capital, University of Liverpool & Liverpool John Moores University 

CONCLUSION

Museums and Ageing – The Challenge Ahead

Hamish Robertson

If you're involved in any way with museum visitation, outreach, marketing or policy you'll want to explore this timely and enjoyable book.

Graeme Farnell

Publisher, MuseumsEtc