Aging & Social Change: Eleventh Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Given the potential risks and biopsychosocial impacts of ageism, we must find ways to address and reduce this bias. Though laws and public policy have a role to play in addressing ageism, particularly in the workplace, we also need to get curious about what ageism is and how it may show up in our lives. The disruption to life and the profound impact of the COVID19 pandemic on older adults exposed just how essential this curiosity and re-imagining work is. Throughout human history, artists and creative people have used their practices to hold up a mirror to society and to imagine different futures. Creative practices can also address the unspoken and nonverbal biases we hold. This workshop presents several intergenerational creative projects to address ageism and the use of art-based research as a means to ameliorate ageist biases in research. Participants will be guided through a creative practice to examine their own internalized ageism and the ageism they see and experience in daily life.