An event highlighting the challenges that minority groups face in ageing was held as part of Sheffield’s Festival of Debate.
The Ethnicity and Unequal Ageing Project and The Festival of Debate collaborated to bring about the interactive seminar.
The event yesterday consisted of three performances from 40 racially minoritised older people based in Rotherham and Sheffield as well as a question and answer segment after the performances.
The group from Sheffield performed a musical piece called: “The Echoes of Time”, while the group from Rotherham performed: “Strangers no more”, which consisted of two scenes and audience interaction.
The pieces tackled themes of discrimination and alienation amongst elderly populations in South Yorkshire and were a product of 12-weeks of art-based workshops that were held by the Utopia theatre in Sheffield and Roar in Rotherham.
Artist Lora Krasteva was also involved in the Rotherham production.
Dr Rashida Bibi, the research associate for the project said: “The intention was thinking about how we can bring people together in terms of collectivizing stories.
“It was about bringing different groups together and finding the commonalities and differences in their experiences of growing older.
“What we got from the workshops was this amazing array of experiences, backgrounds, histories and also a real opportunity to co-produce and for people to learn from each other.”
The research also consists of life history interviews and go-along interviews.
Dr Bibi says that more attention needs to be placed on a person’s subjective experience and background in elderly-care.
“One size fits all doesn’t really work when providing services and opportunities for the elderly.”
During the Q and A section of the event, questions were asked to performers about their experiences in rehearsal and what they gained from it.
Members of the audience and performers also gave their reflections on the issues surrounding old age and discrimination.
Several participants broached on the topic of interaction and connection between different age groups.
One participant from the audience felt that there was a “deliberate attempt” to separate age-groups so that younger people interact less with elderly people.
View this post on Instagram
Questionnaires and booklets containing research on unequal ageing in South Yorkshire were handed out to attendees.