Leicester’s Haymarket Centre will host a powerful and thought-provoking photo exhibition, Ageing & You, which is set to open to the public between 2nd and 10th August 2024.
Based on research from the University of Liverpool’s Centre for Ageing and the Life Course, the unique collection showcases the lived experiences of frailty through the eyes of older photographers.
73 older people living in the Leicestershire region have captured images that shared their individual experiences of getting older. Each photograph is a personal narrative, capturing the beauty, struggles, and resilience that comes with ageing.
(L-R) Dr Victoria Cluley, Professor Susan Pickard, Lord Mayor of Leicester Councillor Bhupen Dave, Lady Mayoress Usha Dave, City Mayor Peter Soulsby.
Ageing & You shares the experiences of older adults from various ethnic backgrounds, reflecting the rich cultural tapestry of Leicester. The photographers represent a variety of ethnic backgrounds, including Black African, Black Caribbean, White British, Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi communities.
Members of Silver Strand, Leicester.
Featuring over 1,000 photographs, curated by the participants themselves, this exhibition not only celebrates the creativity and perspectives of older photographers but also aims to foster a deeper understanding of ageing in the community.
This exhibition has been informed by the ESRC-funded research project, Frailty & Ethnicity, which aims to capture the nuanced experiences of health, illness, and frailty in old age. Findings from this project will be used to raise awareness about the realities of ageing in Leicester and to develop a training tool for NHS staff to improve communication with older people.
Speaking of the benefits of this research for the wider community, Professor Susan Pickard, University of Liverpool, shared: “This exhibition is really helpful in demonstrating how living well in old age is richly diverse and may look very different to the way health care practitioners and others assume it to look.
“By opening up the understanding of ‘successful ageing’ to accommodate multiple different examples, with unique combinations of cultural and biographical elements, we hope the exhibition will help break down stereotypes and foster inclusive approaches to ageing in professionals and lay people alike.”
Dr Victoria Cluley, Co-Investigator from the University of Nottingham, said: “Through this creative work we have learnt so much about the real, lived experience of getting older.
“Our conversations have covered a vast range of topics from hobbies and pets to loss and grief, and from health experiences and housing adaptations to racism and inequality. These insights will be invaluable to our work going forwards in which we hope to develop a training tool for healthcare professionals to improve communication with older patients.”
This research is led by the University of Liverpool in partnership with Universities of Leicester, Nottingham, and The Free University of Brussels, and works closely with Age UK (Leicester, Shire, and Rutland) and The Race Equality Centre.
Join us in celebrating the opening of Ageing & You and experience the powerful stories captured through the lenses of our older residents from 2 August. Find out more here.