Arts & Aging
Room to create, right where people live.
Arts & Aging brings free arts classes led by professional teaching artists into CommonBond communities across the Twin Cities.
Residents age 55 and older can explore an unfamiliar art form, return to something they once loved, or deepen an existing practice. Materials are included, and no previous experience is needed.
Creative Lives
Ten Years of Arts & Aging at CommonBond
September 24–October 26, 2026
UROC Gallery · Minneapolis
Free and open to everyone
Explore paintings, photographs, textiles, sculpture, writing, and more by artists from CommonBond communities across the Twin Cities. Creative Lives celebrates ten years of learning, experimentation, and creative community through Arts & Aging.
Some artists are beginning a new practice. Others are returning to an earlier interest or developing work they have pursued for years. Together, their work offers different experiences, materials, and ways of seeing.
Plan your visit
UROC Gallery
University of Minnesota Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center
2001 Plymouth Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55411
Exhibition dates:
September 24–October 26, 2026
Admission:
Free
Gallery hours:
Monday through Thursday—8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday—8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday—8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For gallery hours, parking, or accessibility questions, contact UROC at 612-626-8762. Find directions and visitor contact information.
Learning and creating together
Arts & Aging is part of CommonBond’s Advantage Services, which support residents’ goals, well-being, and connections within their communities.
Classes offer time to learn, experiment, and work alongside neighbors. Residents bring the interests and experiences that make each class, and each artwork, their own.
Residents help shape the classes
Planning begins with what residents want to learn. Program staff work with residents, site staff, and teaching artists to develop classes that fit each community. Within a class, artists make their own choices about what they create and how their work develops.
Professional artists guide the learning
Teaching artists introduce techniques, demonstrate possibilities, and offer feedback. Classes build from one session to the next, giving residents time to practice, revise, and discover what interests them.
Opportunities come close to home
Classes take place in CommonBond community rooms, with instruction and materials provided at no cost to residents. Offerings have included painting, drawing, clay, fiber arts, photography, writing, storytelling, and performance.
Creativity, connection, and belonging
A creative life can include the satisfaction of learning a technique, finding a way to express an idea, or trying again after an unexpected result. Working beside neighbors over time also creates opportunities to exchange ideas, encourage one another, and form friendships.
Help build vibrant communities
Arts & Aging reflects CommonBond’s belief that a home is a place where people can pursue their interests and build connections. Free classes require paid professional teaching, art materials, and the coordination that brings people together.
If this work inspires you, please consider a gift to CommonBond. Your support helps build stable homes, strong futures, and vibrant communities for residents.
Interested in supporting Arts & Aging through a larger gift, sponsoring a class, or exploring a partnership? Call CommonBond at 651-291-1750 and ask about Arts & Aging.
Research and resources
Researchers study how creative activities relate to health and well-being in later life. Findings suggest benefits in several areas, though results vary by activity, setting, and the people involved.
A foundation for creative aging
Led by Dr. Gene Cohen, the Creativity and Aging Study followed 300 adults age 65 and older across three communities. Its 2006 report found that participants in ongoing arts programs led by professional artists reported better health, fewer doctor visits, and greater involvement in activities than comparison groups. Findings varied across sites and included preliminary trends, but the study offered early evidence of the potential benefits of sustained creative participation.
Read the 2006 Creativity and Aging Study report.
Mental and emotional well-being
A 2025 review in Nature Mental Health combined findings from 39 controlled studies of group arts activities and therapies involving adults over 55 without dementia. Participation was associated with lower depression and anxiety symptoms.
Social connection and interest in life
The Community of Voices study involved 390 older adults at 12 senior centers. After six months, participants in a community choir reported improvements in loneliness and interest in life compared with those waiting to begin.
Explore the Community of Voices findings from UC San Francisco.
What this means for Arts & Aging
These studies inform our understanding of creative participation; they do not measure the outcomes of CommonBond’s Arts & Aging classes.
Art also has value in the experience of making it: learning something, expressing an idea, developing a practice, and choosing what to share.
Arts & Aging Book
Click below to explore artwork that celebrates the creativity, resilience, and joy of our resident artists!
The Arts and Aging Program is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. The Arts and Aging Program is supported by E.A. Michelson Philanthropy.
