Vitality Arts at Mia
Mia’s Vitality Arts programs are five-week art-making workshops for adults 55 and older. These workshops, led by professional teaching artists, encourage older adults to tap into their creativity and connect with the museum’s collection. Past programs have included workshops in drawing, painting, performance, jewelry making, assemblage, street art, mural painting, and more.
Programming for older adults sparks creativity, creates lasting friendships, and celebrates older artists as vital to our community. While Mia collaborates with communities of older adults through these workshops, our staff is also working in other ways—through focus groups, staff and volunteer training, visitor evaluations, and advocacy work—to make Mia a more age-friendly museum.
The Vitality Arts Project for Art Museums, funded by E. A. Michelson Philanthropy, is a nationwide cohort of twenty-five museums working to provide meaningful arts programming for older adults “55 and better.” Vitality Arts at Mia started as a two-year program in 2022 and was extended for a third year in 2024.
Mia offers scholarships and sliding-scale ticket prices to accommodate all learners—and no experience is necessary. All materials are provided for the duration of the class.
New Courses
Testimonials
“It is difficult to fully capture how impactful and extraordinary this class has been for me. Community, expansion, expression of self and joy! I can simply say . . . you created an opening for my new creative life!”
—Intro to Drawing participant
“It was like we discovered something in us that was hidden before, skills that we didn’t even know we had.”
—Cultural Assemblage participant
Related Press
Wilder Foundation: “From Needle to Paintbrush, the Power of Art” February 17, 2025
Mill City Times: “Mia’s Lifelong Learning Programs For Adults 55 and Over” June 1, 2024
See Vitality Arts in Action
55 and Better: Vitality Arts at Mia
Previous Courses
Botanical Watercolor: Intro to Watercolor Painting
This botanical watercolor class was led by teaching artist Michael Gaughan and aligned with Mia’s spring event, Art in Bloom.
Nontraditional Portraiture
Christopheraaron Deanes, an innovative educator, artist, and restorative practitioner, led this nontraditional self-portrait workshop. Students also had the opportunity to view Mia’s special exhibition “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys.”
Street Art
Artist Luis Fitch introduced students to the history of graffiti and street art—and guided them as they made their own. Students created tag names then illustrate a canvas using spray painting, wheat pasting, graffiti, stenciling and tagging techniques. The workshop began indoors in the Mia studios and then transitioned to an outdoor space, allowing for an authentic street art experience.
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