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Older People Learning through Contemporary Visual Art – Engagement and Barriers
Author(s) -
Goulding Anna
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of art and design education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.312
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1476-8070
pISSN - 1476-8062
DOI - 10.1111/j.1476-8070.2013.01751.x
Subject(s) - art gallery , context (archaeology) , contemporary art , lifelong learning , psychosocial , visual arts , visual arts education , identity (music) , sociology , art therapy , pedagogy , psychology , aesthetics , art , the arts , exhibition , history , archaeology , psychiatry , performance art , psychotherapist , art history
This article addresses how older people understand and engage with contemporary art in the gallery context – whether there is something unique to the art, the format of the visits, the pedagogical approaches used by gallery educators, the social contact, or a combination of all these factors. It also addresses the psychosocial barriers to engagement. It draws from ‘Contemporary visual art and identity construction – wellbeing amongst older people’, a two‐year research project funded by the cross‐research council New Dynamic of Ageing Programme. Over 21 months, 43 participants aged 60–92 made three visits to contemporary art galleries in north‐east England. The potential for art galleries to develop lifelong learning opportunities for post‐retirement people has implications for the cultural, health and voluntary sector.