Performing Ages

Περίληψη

In the multicultural reality of worlds where people's diverse social and personal identities are often discouraged from meeting and are excluded from spaces of shared identity, various discriminations are born. Working with separate groups of adults 65+ and many more with teenagers, the time was right to create an intergenerational workshop, an initiative that was accepted and supported by the National Theatre of Greece. This project attempted to invite people of two different age groups and generations to equally participate in a creative process of renegotiating age representation on and off stage, also as a socio-artistic dialogue process on ageism matters. We applied democratic and participatory practices incorporating Intercultural values and pedagogical goals of Inclusion. Participants researched and staged questions such as: Can art be a safe ground for co-creation and equal coexistence between adolescents and older people (60+)? How is ageism absorbed and reflected in staged and unstaged realities? How do age phases of life serve collective narratives and how do they create artistic spaces of expression? How is aesthetic and experiential pedagogical methodology combined with inclusive education, regarding managing the “gap generation” phenomenon?

The workshop concluded in June 2025 with a performance and a video production aimed at promoting intergenerational culture and education. This presentation aspires to refer to “staged & unstaged” age stereotypes, ageism and wonder on possibilities of reforming and re-making social, educational and art spaces in terms of age visibility, participatory opportunities, democratic values and intergenerational views, suggesting the artistic and educational practice of Performing Ages.