Aging & Social Change: Eleventh Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Ageism has harmful effects on the health of older adults. According to the World Health Organization, ageism has been shown to cause cardiovascular stress, lowered levels of self-efficacy, and decreased productivity. The pandemic has revealed the extent to which ageism adversely affects elders, and especially those who live in nursing homes. While there is recognition and awareness of the issues of ageism, few proven solutions about how to change attitudes and perceptions around aging exist. There is, however, historical evidence that activism—and more specifically artistic activism—has had significant impact on social change, particularly with regard to movements such as civil rights, women’s rights, and the labor movement. This session will examine artistic activism and its potential to affect society’s attitudes about age and our perceptions of it, especially when it comes to bridging the gap between awareness and making change. The session will entail the following: a consciousness-raising exercise around ageism, an historical and evidentiary review of artistic activism’s impact on social change, a look at creative activism that exists now, a discussion of initiatives that participants can utilize to engage their communities through art that brings awareness to ageism, and an interactive exercise that will help participants generate their own ideas for effective activist art initiatives.