Material Objects on the Journey of Life: investigating the potential of material objects to make visible the lived experience of old age. (360G-Wellcome-203154_Z_16_Z)

This inter-disciplinary research project investigates how material objects can illuminate lived experience of old age. It is a collaboration between researchers at Queen’s University Belfast, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and a visual artist. It is designed as a pilot for a Collaborative Award in the Humanities and Social Science in 2017. The contribution of this project will be to enhance public perceptions of ageing, by providing meaningful, engaging and tangible representations of old age in its social context. The project aims to advance socio-historical and cultural understandings of healthy old age, which lag behind biomedical research on ageing. This funding will allow our team to work with six older people to explore the meaning of material objects which are personal to them. Project goals are to recruit older people from the Arts and Older People programme at the Art Council NI who will provide six material objects; to run a one day workshop where older people will work with visual artist, Gemma Hodge to produce 36 pieces of art (casts/photographs/paintings sculptures); an exhibition of these works, and qualitative interviews with participants. We will also assess the strengths and weaknesses of the project to inform a larger research proposal.