Arts Council of Princeton lead artist and instructor Eva Mantell participated in the National Leadership Exchange and Conference on Creative Aging in Washington, DC in June.
Mantell was among the featured speakers at the conference, which hosted more than 300 arts and aging professionals from around the world from June 10 to 14.
Mantell brings art into the community through leading classes in Creative Aging, Arts and Health, Art for Caregivers, and Art with At-Risk Youth at the ACP’s Paul Robeson Center. She emphasizes direct, hands-on and personal encounters with art and art history through experimentation, and conversation.
The Arts Council of Princeton supports Mantell and her efforts in keeping seniors active and creative, and in building community through the arts in this important way. Studies show that the mental and social activity fostered by arts activities can be beneficial to older adults and can result in fewer trips to the doctor. Participation in arts activities can help alleviate pain and stress, as well as help preserve cognitive function in people dealing with memory loss.
Mantell said she felt energized by the conference.
“Professionals throughout the country are bearing out the research that shows how important the arts are to healthy aging, Mantell said. “When people participate in the arts they are able to give back and to have a voice. Their stories and their contributions have a meaningful place in the community.”
According to ACP executive director Jeff Nathanson ACP is one of the three professional training sites for the National Center for Creative Aging, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
As an artist, Mantell works with everyday materials to create sculpture, drawings and video. With a goal of questioning how creativity can effect change, Mantell works with materials like coffee cups or leaves to track the nuances of change. She has exhibited widely, both in the U.S. and abroad, and her work is in public, private and corporate collections.
Mantel lives in Princeton with her husband and two children, and teaches art to students of all ages through the Arts Council of Princeton’s education outreach programs.
More information is online at artscouncilofprinceton.org.
