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This chapter considers the role of participation in community arts as a means of promoting greater social engagement by older people. It considers the contribution of community-based activities in general and emphasises that they should be considered part of a broader programme to enhance the quality of lives of residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods. It then considers in detail the impact of one specific community arts project, detailing the enthusiastic reaction of the participants but also highlighting the need to ensure ongoing support and the need to recognise the central role of the facilitator. It concludes by re-emphasising the importance of promoting control of such community initiatives by the local residents.
This article examines the use of public consultation by the Northern Ireland central government between the years of 2000 and 2004. Key findings suggest a general enthusiasm for its use by government and citizens, despite the identification of challenges including lack of resources as well as ‘consultation fatigue’. In addition, divergences exist between the aims and expectations of administrators and those of citizens and the community and voluntary sector on the contentious issue of what should constitute ‘participation’. Reflecting a key debate in the literature on whether the use of mechanisms such as public consultation signals the emergence of autonomous, horizontal networks of governance, it is argued here that instead, the way in which public consultation was used indicates a continuance of centralised, hierarchical government.
Despite increasing evidence that continued engagement in creative activities is beneficial as we navigate later life, we still know comparatively little about what participation in theatre, and specifically in theatre-making, means to participants. This chapter presents selected findings from a detailed interdisciplinary case study of one particular theatre - the Victoria/New Victoria Theatre in North Staffordshire - in the lives of older people. The chapter describes how the project took shape; how each of its three strands (archival, interview and performative) developed; and how its rich and complex data set has been used: with a focus on articulating the place of the theatre in people’s lives, and on their understandings of its role in relation to ageing and later life.
This chapter discusses the narratives of ageing, looking at how older people can reflect on their lives and explore new opportunities. This concern with how older people represent themselves, and are represented by others, is a relatively new one in gerontology. On the other hand, images of old age and especially ageing bodies have such a powerful and largely negative impact on social attitudes to older people. The NDA authors seek to challenge this point of view by developing transformative narratives through participation in a range of arts-related activities including reading, art appreciation, community arts, and photography. This chapter examines five path-breaking NDA projects where older people actively engaged with the dominant cultural narratives of ageing. It also explores more positive and personally enriching narratives which demonstrate creativity and opened up numerous new possibilities for them.
This chapter presents a comprehensive introduction to the major gerontological topic of participation and social connectivity based on eleven separate NDA projects. Looking at Brazil, India, and South Africa, the chapter begins with a summary of the critical importance of participation to health and well-being in later life. It challenges negative stereotypes of ageing and older people, such as declining participation. It shows that older people do participate and are often tenacious in this but they are often confronted with multiple barriers that prevent them from doing so. The chapter concludes by citing examples on how to improve meaningful participation in later life, which ranges from community arts to literature.
