First-Ever Study on Aging Visual Artists in NYC to be Announced at Sotheby's - December 3, 2007 On December 3, the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York will be hosting a convening at Sotheby’s at which the findings of the first-ever study on Aging Visual Artists will be announced.
News-Antique.com - Nov 13,2007 - FINDINGS OF THE FIRST-EVER STUDY ON AGING ARTISTS IN NEW YORK CITY TO BE ANNOUNCED AT SOTHEBY’S ON DECEMBER 3, 2007
STUDY FINDS VISUAL ARTISTS 62+ TO BE ENGAGED, PRODUCTIVE AND PLAN TO STAY IN NEW YORK
New York, New York – On December 3, 2007, the Sotheby’s Institute of Art – New York will host a convening and reception to announce the findings of a pioneering study of aging artists in New York City. The report, entitled “Above Ground: Information on Artists III: Special Focus New York City Aging Artists” was conducted by the Research Center for Arts and Culture at Teachers College Columbia University and was supported by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging (CITRA). The event will take place at Sotheby’s auction house, 1334 York Avenue (between 71st and 72nd), from 3 to 5pm on December 3, 2007.
“Above Ground” is the first needs assessment of aging artists in New York City, and the report finds that aging artists, who have learned to adapt their whole lives to sustain their work, offer a great deal as a model for society, especially as the workforce changes to accommodate multiple careers and baby boomers entering the retirement generation. This study is the first of its kind to understand how artists – who often reach artistic maturity and artistic satisfaction as they age – are supported and integrated within their communities and how their network structures change over time. Contrary to the stereotype, aging artists are passionate about their work and experience joy, introspection and humor in relation to it. They rank high in life satisfaction and self-esteem, and 91% would choose to be artists again. Not at all isolated,
77% communicate daily or weekly with other artists. These artists are resilient and have an ongoing engagement with both their life and art.
For this study, 213 artists age 62-97 and residing in the five boroughs of NYC were interviewed in English, Chinese and Spanish. 146 of those were professional artists. All of these artists have been invited to the conference, sponsored by the Sotheby’s Institute of Art – New York, on December 3. Service providers for aging artists will be present with information about estate planning, retirement, as well as a legacy project for recording additional stories of aging artists in New York. The conference will be attended by representatives from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the NYC Department for the Aging and the project’s advisory board (members listed below).
The 210-page report and 45-page executive summary (in Spanish, Chinese and English) with a preface by advisory board member, Pulitzer-Prize winner and noted advocate in aging, Dr. Robert N. Butler, analyzes data from these interviews in the areas of retirement, satisfaction, social networks, income, discrimination, education, health insurance, legacy planning, careers, identity and professionalism. Recommendations include using artists’ networks to disseminate social services for the aging, investigating more flexible models of retirement benefits (for both artists and other freelancers), adapting rent laws
