Our Research
The ideas behind our business
Whilst there is always a lot of talk about the benefits of creative activity for older people, and for art in particular, it can sometimes be hard to find documented cases of how this works in practice. This section of our website is dedicated to sharing research we've discovered on the benefits of art activity for older people, as well as celebrating art in general by those over 65.
Our aim as a business is to promote art as a rewarding hobby and profession that can help improve confidence, cognition and well-being as we age. Maybe not everyone is aware that there are world famous artists still making art in their 90s, and other artists who even only became famous in their 70s. We hope that sharing research and success stories of older artists will be inspiring to those who use our services, and their friends, relatives, carers and healthcare professionals.
Read the sections below to find out about inspiring art projects with, and by, older people all over the world:
Magic Me's Artist Residencies in Care Homes (ARCH) Project
From Magic Me's website:
“I passionately believe that just because someone lives in a care home they don’t stop being entitled to high quality arts and culture, or to a participative experience that is more than just something to pass the time” – Susan Langford, Magic Me Director
"Magic Me always aims to challenge care homes and arts organisations to be adventurous in what they offer to older residents. We also want to better understand and share what it takes to deliver great arts in a care home setting.
Read more at
https://magicme.co.uk/dare-to-imagine-showcase-report-launch/
Photo from some of Magic Me's work with Care Home residents included in the ARCH report.
Graffiti Workshops for the Over 65s in Portugal
Founded by Lara Seixo Rodrigues, a street artist from eastern Portugal, LATA 65 (lata means “can” in Portuguese) is an urban art workshop that teaches the basics of street art to seniors in various neighbourhoods around the city of Lisbon, Portugal.
LATA 65 aims at destroying age stereotypes, bringing art closer to the communities and connecting older and younger generations in letting them have fun.
Press articles here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/11638795/Senior-citizens-breaking-down-stereotypes-with-street-art-in-pictures.html
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/shortcuts/2015/sep/13/the-graffiti-grannies-of-lisbon
Photo from LATA 65
95-Year-Old Yayoi Kusama: The Best-Selling Woman Artist in the World
If William Blake believed you could find a universe in a grain of sand, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama believes you can find it in a polka dot. This remarkable 95-year-old multimedia creator is the top-selling woman artist in the world. In 2024 alone her polka-dotted work can be seen from San Francisco to Rochester to Miami, from London to Barcelona, and on permanent display in the Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
Read more here....
https://www.nextavenue.org/95-year-old-yayoi-kusama-best-selling-woman-artist/
Photo and text from nextavenue.org
Louise Bourgeois and her art success after 70
From the New York museum of modern art website:
In 1982, at 70 years old, Bourgeois finally took center stage with a retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art. After that, she was filled with new confidence and forged ahead, creating monumental spiders, eerie room-sized “Cells,” evocative figures often hanging from wires, and a range of fabric works fashioned from her old clothes. All the while she constantly made drawings on paper, day and night, and also returned to printmaking. Art was her tool for coping; it was an exorcism. As she put it, “Art is a guarantee of sanity.”...
Read more at
https://www.moma.org/artists/710
Photo from medium.com
Artist Rose Wylie turns 90
Rose Wylie, who came to prominence in her seventies after decades of relative obscurity, will be 90 in October. She is spry for her age and precise in conversation, with the clipped vowels of a character in Brief Encounter (1945). A little formidable when the mood takes her. She takes great pride in her plants—the hawthorn, hazelnut, willow, and wild cherry, an unusual periwinkle that sprouts dark purple flowers......
Read more at
https://a-rabbitsfoot.com/editorial/art-photography/rose-wylie-at-home/
Photo from a-rabbitsfoot.com
©Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.