Artistic and creative activities and cultural participation in later life are important keys to social inclusion, quality of life and the wellbeing of older people.
Responding to demographic changes, the Ministry of Culture of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia took the initiative in 2008 to introduce a new strategy to bring together the arts and older people establishing ”kubia”, the Centre of Competence for Creative Ageing and Inclusive Arts at the ibk.
kubia is a professional forum and service platform for artists, arts facilitators, care professionals and staff in cultural institutions and local authorities. The centre provides information, training, networking opportunities and advice on all issues relating to cultural and arts-based activities and lifelong learning for older people. Our aim is to raise awareness of the important role of cultural participation in older age by developing trend-setting concepts and innovative models.
We focus on professionalising arts-related educational practices for older adults, promoting intergenerational dialogue through the arts, developing arts-based programmes for the frail and people with dementia, promoting participation and volunteer work in arts and culture in later life as well as developing intercultural and inclusive schemes. kubia also runs a forum for theatre of older adults in North Rhine-Westphalia (Theatergold). Furthermore, kubia engages in a variety of international projects and networks.