Workshops and Events

Lead: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute/College of Creative Arts

Until recently, declining mental capacity as humans age was believed to be inevitable. New findings in neuroscience demonstrate that creative pursuits can continue to strengthen and sharpen mental capacity throughout life. In this mini-conference, learn how to keep your brain in top shape, literally becoming smarter and wiser, no matter your age.

Explore: What is creativity?
Learn: How can we cultivate creativity?
Apply: How does creativity keep our brains youthful?

Registration for the "Creativity: The Arts and Your Gray Matter" conference includes a one-year membership to SF State’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Cost: $50 general/$25 OLLI members

Schedule

• 12:30–1:15pm: Registration
• 1:15pm: Building a Better Brain. Overview: New Science, New Insights
• 1:30–3pm: Jazz it Up! Octogenarian drummer Jimmy Cobb and saxophonist Andrew Speight with SF State’s Generations Jazz Band lead an interactive demonstration peppered with music, using jazz to explore creative engagement and communication. Cobb and Speight have adapted this special workshop for OLLI, from creativity trainings they performed for NASA and The Economist.
• 3–3:30pm: Networking break with refreshments
• 3:30–5pm: Creativity and the Aging Brain. What brain science tells us about creativity and how to cultivate creativity as we age. Led by Kurt Daw, dean of the College of Creative Arts. Panel includes Susan Stauter, artistic director, San Francisco Unified School District, and Harry R. Moody, director of academic affairs, AARP.
• 5–6pm (optional) Reception. Learn more about creative opportunities and networks.

Event partners

• The Transition Network
• OWL
• Engage as you Age
• Legacy Film Series
• Coming of Age Bay Area
• United Educators of San Francisco-Retired Division
• United Administrators of San Francisco (emeriti)
• Sixty-Plus

For questions, please contact: Sandra Halladey at 415-405-2849
Website: http://creativearts.sfsu.edu/events/2201/creativity-arts-and-your-gray-matter
Twitter hashtag: #graymatter

To order tickets (which include a one-year membership to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute), please visit the website below.

• Register for the "Creativity: The Arts and Your Gray Matter" Mini Conference Workshop