Date/Time
Date(s) - 29/01/2025
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

#HASTalks is a seminar series curated by The Department of Health, Aging & Society at McMaster University.

This event is co-hosted with the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging.

Julia Henderson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at University of British Columbia. She is a registered occupational therapist and holds a PhD in Theatre. Her research with older adults uses arts-based methods, especially theatre, to redress cultural ageism and promote citizenship. Julia is Chair of the North American Network in Aging Studies, Co-chair of Community Engagement with UBC’s Edwin S H Leong Centre for Healthy Aging, and an investigator with the Concordia University-based SSHRC Partnership Project, “Aging in Data.” Julia’s research is published in Frontiers in Health Services, Leisure/Loisir, Canadian Theatre Review, Journal of American Drama and Theatre, Theatre Research in Canada, Age Culture Humanities, Thornton Wilder Journal and Research in Drama Education. She also has recent chapters in Aging Studies and Ecocriticism, The Palgrave Handbook of Literature and Aging, and Pandemic Play: Community in Performance, Gaming, and the Arts.

Arts Against Ageism: Portraits of Inclusivity

In this talk Dr. Julia Henderson discusses her innovative arts-based research and knowledge translation projects that seek to resist and redress cultural ageism, and promote intergenerational solidarity and activism. Three project examples will be presented: (1) Dr. Henderson’s Intergenerational Arts for Climate Action Study; (2) #HaveASeniorMoment Social Media Video Series, a partnership with Western Gold Theatre; and (3) the UBC Healthy Aging Visual Art Prize. Through these examples, the session highlights how the use of arts-based approaches does important cultural work of expanding the repertoire of images of older age, of re-imagining age narratives to be more expansive and inclusive, and of promoting intergeneration connection and understanding.

ALL are welcome to attend this FREE online session! Register for this event via Zoom or watch in person in LRW 1003.

Please note: This session may be recorded. Please be aware that any materials entered, exchanged, or viewed by participants during the session may be recorded.