Look at me! Images of women and aging

Representing self: Representing aging

The Look at me! Images of women and ageing project aimed to transform the way society views older women.

This was a unique project which challenged the perceptions of older women in our society.

The Second World Assembly on Ageing in 2002 recognised a need to challenge stereotyped images of ageing, particularly in relation to older women. The use of visual methods as a means of allowing older women to tell us their experiences of ageing is one way of doing this but, at the time of the project, 'ordinary' older women had not had the opportunity to either comment on, or create, their own images of ageing. This project aimed to do precisely that.

We invited older women in Sheffield to join our creative workshops exploring images of ageing. The women were given the opportunity to create their own images of the ageing process. We exhibited these images at public venues in and around Sheffield in March 2011, to mark the centenary of International Women's Day.

Media coverage

The project has received coverage in:

It has also featured on BBC Radio Sheffield, and Communities Live, Sheffield.

View our press releases announcing the launch of the project and the launch of the exhibition.

New Dynamics

The New Dynamics of Ageing Programme is a seven year multidisciplinary research initiative with the ultimate aim of improving quality of life of older people.

The programme is a unique collaboration between five UK Research Councils - ESRC, EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC and AHRC - and is the largest and most ambitious research programme on ageing ever mounted in the UK.

ESRC

The Economic and Social Research Council have showcased the Look at Me! project in the an impact case study and a short five minute film.