Workshops

Graffiti workshop

Who is allowed to leave their marks on the city? We bring this question to older adults from the downtown YMCA and to students from James Lynn highschool and ask them to collaborate on street art. Jimmy Baptiste, a visual artist from Montreal, will draw from the intergenerational exchanges to create a graffiti-inspired design in collaboration with the groups. This design will be reproduced on large canvases during B/OLD. Come and contribute to this collective graffiti, and leave your mark on the city!

May 16 – 17
9:00am – 5:00pm
4th Space
Bilingual activity

Exposing & undoing ageism workshop

Everyone is on an aging journey. Yet throughout life people are discriminated against and stereotyped en masse, based simply on the amount of times they have travelled around the sun. Ageism is compounded by other forms of discrimination: entrenched and insidious, easy to overlook and difficult to untangle. Intergenerational harmony is the key to stopping it, but how do we all get there? Join age activist Ryan Backer in shattering the young/old binary, and making way for a view of aging based on community care and social justice for all.

May 21
1pm – 3:30pm
4th Space
Activity in English (Whisper translation is available in French)

Experimental eyes and ears on the city with seniors

Join seniors and facilitators from the Digital Literacy Project of the Atwater Library to explore the area around Concordia’s 4th space and collect various media clips (sound, video and photographs). We will use some of our favourite approaches to media editing that participants have enjoyed using in the past at the Digital Literacy Project (slow motion, time-lapse, creative audio editing and green screen). The workshop will be co-facilitated by creative seniors who have participated in and Digital Literacy Project facilitators. We will put all of our pieces together to make a collaborative piece.

May 22
1pm – 4pm
4th Space
Activity in English (Whisper translation is available in French)

Caravan of democracy

Do you want to contribute to the future of our city? Meet and speak with your elected officials and representatives of the City to learn more about citizen participation. The Caravan of Democracy travels to meet the citizens of Montreal. The Caravan is an initiative of the Office of the Council Chair, and it is part of its mandate to build trust and active participation in public life for all citizens.

May 23
12:30 – 5pm
4th Space
Activity in French with bilingual Q&A

Advanced style workshop

This workshop entails a screening of Ari Seth Cohen’s documentary Advance Style, framed by a discussion about image and aging. Before the screening, the participants are presented with a series of questions about image, self-expression, and aging, which they are invited to discuss in small groups. After the film, these questions and responses are revisited in a discussion over refreshments and sandwiches. At the end of the workshop, the participants have the option of getting their portraits taken by a local Montreal photographer.

May 24
11:00am – 1:30pm
4th Space
Activity in French with bilingual Q&A

Activities

Escape room on elder abuse

The escape room on elder abuse is an interactive, educational and immersive space to grapple with the sensitive issue of elder abuse. Small teams of two to four individuals are invited to enter a room, where they are asked to solve puzzles and riddles together. As they progress in the game, players learn about some of the forms that elder abuse can take, and about the resources that are available in the community. This project is based on a collaboration between ACT, Respecting Elders: Communities against Abuse (RECAA) and the Centre de recherche et d’expertise en gérontologie sociale (CREGÉS). To schedule to play the escape room, go to https://calendly.com/escaperoomonelderabuse/60min

May 14 – 24
10:00am – 5:00pm
4th Space
Bilingual activity

Art hive

Come make art or play in the sand in a hive of imagination and possibilities! Art Hives bring the tools of the creative arts therapies back into communities, and welcome everyone as an artist and scientist. These unprogrammed spaces invite people from all ages, abilities and backgrounds to explore their creativity, meet their neighbours, share their skills, break isolation and enhance their wellbeing. Join us, let your imagination run free and build community!

May 14 – 24
10:00am – 5:00pm
4th Space
Bilingual activity

Podcast recording

The ACT podcast is an audio series that brings researchers, activists, older adults into conversation about topics related to aging. From global warming to abusive practices of telecommunication providers, the team is interested in politically and culturally meaningful issues that matter to older adults. The ACT podcast team will be recording live from B/OLD, asking participants their thoughts on the realities of aging in Montreal.

May 16-17
9:00am – 5:00pm
4th Space
Bilingual activity

Check your balance

This activity is designed to increase awareness of how the design of the urban environment poses functional challenges to those with age-related vision impairment. Participants will learn about the interactions between visual aging and mobility aging. They will be invited to complete vision and balance activities with and without goggles that simulate different levels of visual ability. These activities will include walking, reading with traditional eye charts, searching for visual information, and recording balance in real-time using the Wii Balance Board. Activities are designed to mimic everyday tasks that would be affected by age-related vision changes in order to increase the understanding of the types of challenges that seniors face on a daily basis.

May 16-17
9:00am – 5:00pm
4th Space
Bilingual activity

Linking generations through song

“Linking generations through song” is an inclusive intergenerational singing group facilitated by a certified music therapist for those affected by Alzheimer’s or dementia, their care partner, as well as school-aged children and members from the community. This project came about due to a lack of social activities in the community available to the diagnosed individual and their care partner to do together. This is particularly true for the weekend, when lack of opportunities outside of the home can leave the caregiver feeling overwhelmed and isolated. This singing group addresses this need, providing care partners and diagnosed individuals with the opportunity to socialize with other members of the community, to seek out new support, and to benefit from the therapeutic effect that singing can have on everyone.

May 17
12:30 – 13:30pm
4th Space

Exhibit

Computerized Fidget quilt for person with Alzheimer’s/Dementia

People with Alzheimer’s/dementia often show anxiety or agitation through fidgety hands. Fidget quilts provide sensory and tactile stimulation for restless hands and they help to reduce anxiety and calm nerves.  Fidget quilts are traditionally made using zippers, snaps and different textures of fabric. Many quilters create fidget quilts and donate them to senior’s residences without knowing the residents. Patricia Yetman’s belief is that the residents would feel a greater sense of comfort and reap more benefits if a fidget quilt was personalized in some way. With collaborators, she developed a a personalized, computerized fidget quilt for her father. The quilt uses an Arduino Flora computer, conductive thread, conductive fabric, 3 LED lights and a buzzer programmed to play music. The quilt itself is divided into three sections and targets important activities in my father’s life prior to his illness. The quilt will be on display at B/OLD and participants are invited to find out more about its development and its interactive functions.

May 14 – 24
10:00am – 5:00pm
4th Space
Bilingual

AddressKnown

AddressKnown is an interactive documentary produced by Giuliana Cucinelli and Kim Sawchuk. It weaves together several stories of residents living in the Parc Extension neighbourhood of Montreal. These stories bring forth a multiplicity of perspectives which, together, provide a glimpse into a diverse neighbourhood that has undergone significant transformations in the past several years.

May 14 – 24
10:00am – 5:00pm
4th Space
Bilingual

Children’s missing hospital: An un-controlled demolition

This film by Ramsay Blair details the dramatic and recent changes to Cabot Square since the former Children’s Hospital on Tupper Street closed on May 24, 2015. Since then, Ramsay has been documenting the abandon, decay and finally the demolition of the “Children’s,” as it was affectionately known in the neighbourhood of Shaughnessy Village for almost 60 years.

May 14 – 24
10:00am – 5:00pm
4th Space
Bilingual

Stories from collaborative media-making workshops

Since 2013, Concordia University students have been working with members of the community organization Groupe Harmonie to bring digital literacy workshops to local low income housing buildings for older adults in Montreal. As part of workshops, the residents have been invited to learn how to use various digital technologies and to experiment with digital media-making. Some have recorded their own stories, which bring into focus elements of their lives in Montreal.

May 14 – 24
10:00am – 5:00pm
4th Space
Bilingual