Tackling age discrimination means developing an increased respect for older artists, argues Tom Chivers.
Britain, along with most of the developed world, is going grey. Everyone knows the statistics. In 2001, for the first time in the UK, there were more people aged over 60 than under 16; by 2050 the over 60s will have grown to an estimated 20 million, one third of the current population. At the same time, age discrimination largely against older people is prevalent in the workplace and in society at large. According to a recent MORI poll, nine out of ten older employees believe that their employers discriminate against them.
So whats this got to do with the arts? Well for a start, older people will constitute an increasingly large proportion of audiences at theatres and concert halls, and visitors to galleries and museums. If our creative and cultural institutions want to capture that elusive grey pound, they must be responsive to the needs and preferences of a diverse community of older people. But thats the easy bit.
Challenging prejudice against older artists is more difficult, particularly in the performing arts sector where the notion that youth is best is most apparent. Take the UKs arts funding landscape for instance: almost all the major funders cite young people as their key funding target, leaving older people out in the cold.
The Company of Elders, a troupe of over-60s dancers based at Sadlers Wells in London, are living proof of the energy and insight that older people bring to the performing arts. When I first met the Company, rehearsing with renowned Portuguese choreographer Clara Andermatt, I was bowled over by the intensity and fluidity of their actions.
This was no amateur group (even though only one member of the Company has a professional dance background). The Company was working towards a new piece entitled Natural an exploration of growing old in speech and movement. The show, presented in the Lilian Baylis Theatre as part of the hubs annual dance festival Movimento4, was a sell-out. Paul Cann, Director of Policy at Help the Aged, describes it well, Their expressive words and movements told a story about the infinite variety, achievement and potential of older people so much eloquence from so few words. We were all moved, and especially as all the members of the Company made a dignified departure, leaving alone on stage an imaginative master-stroke a collection of metronomes ticking, and one by one halting, at different speeds and times.
It would be tempting to think of the Companys work only as community arts. Indeed, the benefits of dance to the over-60s in particular are pretty convincing: improving balance, co-ordination and memory; enabling older people to stay physically active; and, of course, providing social opportunities. But the most lasting impression of the Company of Elders is of a group of artists committed to producing challenging, high-quality work. With this in mind, we were thrilled to be asked to bring the Company over to Portugal to perform Natural as part of Faro Capital Nacional da Cultura 2005. The Companys performance was one of the highlights of a three-day festival of dance and marks a new stage in the groups artistic development.
Back in the UK, we asked the Company to produce a new piece with choreographer Tânia Carvalho for Movimento5. After a months intensive workshopping, a remarkable ensemble piece, I walk, you sing, premièred at Laban in Deptford, exploring notions of isolation and community through carefully choreographed movements, gestures and expressions.
So what can the arts do to challenge age discrimination? We could recognise the immense contribution of older people to the UKs cultural landscape, not just as audiences but also as artists and performers. We could provide more opportunities for older people to participate in the arts at all levels from workshops in local arts centres to international performances of high-quality work. In short, we could take a leaf out of the Company of Elders book and recognise that age should not be a barrier to success.
Tom Chivers is an Associate of the hub, an arts development practice based in London.
w: http://www.thehubuk.com