CURRENT PROJECTS
Let’s Talk: About the Value of Aging Across Cultures
“Participating in this project affirmed my sense of self as an elder by learning and appreciating the value, vibrancy and
amount of contribution to community made by elders.”
Through ICA’s Art Program, we have coordinated many senior projects over the years in collaboration with various community and cultural organizations. Far too many seniors have reported feeling “invisible” and “diminished.”
It’s clear we live in a youth-fixated culture. As Andy Rooney ruefully pointed out,
“It’s paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn’t appeal to anyone.”
Our fast-paced and increasingly high-tech world continues to devalue old age in many ways. Almost every stereotype we associate with being elderly is something negative: feeble, over the hill, wrinkled, grumpy, sexless, unemployable, of diminished mental ability, to name a few. In fact, according to some researchers, ageism is more pervasive and “accepted” than negative stereotypes based on gender, race or sexual orientation.
This project was a way to start de-bunking some of these misconceptions. To change the lens through which we view aging, and to challenge our stereotypical assumptions, we invited self-identifying
seniors to share their real life experiences, in all their complexities. The stories they told in the community sessions were shared openly and honestly and many are captured in this book. We also facilitated wide-reaching conversation about cross-cultural perceptions and experiences of aging. Everyone learned something about how different societies perceive, treat and value their seniors.
This project would not have been possible without the expert storytelling facilitation of Lina de Guevara and the guidance of our dedicated committee of eight community Elders. We deeply appreciate their support and friendship over this year-long project. My heartfelt thanks go to our Photographer, Quinton Gordon, and our Book Designer, Amanda Maslany, who were not only a joy to work with, but are the reason you’re holding such a beautiful book in your hands today. It was a labour of love and our way of honouring the Elders in our community.
Paulina Grainger
Project Manager,
ICA Manager of Arts & Community Engagement
“I think the topic of ageism is extremely important and especially more so since the
enormous losses of the elderly during this Covid pandemic.”
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Email Paulina Grainger: pgrainger@icavictoria.org
Click on Thumbnails Below to View Some of the Many Stories from the Book