Dr. Julia Henderson joined us as an Assistant Professor in 2022 and is an investigator with UBC’s Edwin S H Leong Centre for Healthy Aging. Her research centres on redressing ageism through occupation, with a particular focus on theatre, performance, and collaborative art-making that embrace allyship.
Dr. Henderson’s background as an occupational therapist and as a professional actor provides a unique perspective for her research, combining two of her passions and allowing for a deep exploration of interdisciplinary possibilities.
By researching in this space, she hopes to investigate how occupations can be used to counter ageism, promote activism, foster a sense of community (especially across generations), and positively (re)shape notions of ageing, older age, and practices of care:
The field of cultural age studies has begun to explore how normative expectations surrounding age not only pose limitations on older people, but also condition perceptions and prejudices about all ages across the life course. Such expectations are frequently translated into assumptions about how to ‘act one’s age,’ provoking its direct connection to performance.
Henderson, Gillespie, & Casado-Gual, Theatre Research in Canada, 2021
Dr. Henderson is currently working on four interconnected streams of inquiry:
1. Inclusion for older adult professionals in the live performing arts
The number and quality of roles for professionals in the live performance arts (performers, directors, choreographers, stage managers, designers etc.) dramatically diminish with age. Not only does this limit opportunity for creative expression and the ability to sustain an active and meaningful career, it also reduces the ability to earn income and access associated benefits like extended health care coverage (which can become increasingly important as we age).
Funded by a Canada Council Research-Creation Grant, Dr. Henderson partnered with director John Jack Paterson to create the 2023 intergenerational Creatus Project and is now reviewing interview data in a parallel study.
Dr. Henderson’s primary objectives are to investigate how to reduce stigma (especially related to ageism and ableism) and to promote accessibility for older professionals to continue to work in the live performing arts. Using intergenerational collaborations to explore the creation of an anti-ageist culture, the study aims to develop case studies alongside creative new tools and techniques that will support companies to increase inclusivity and counter ageism and ableism in this sector.
Explore some of ideas created during the Creatus workshops which look at obstacles and creative solutions available in this series of graphic posters: Tales of the Theatre for Professionals of All Ages.
2. Counteracting ageism with TikTok
Western Gold Theatre in Vancouver is one of just two professional theatre companies in Canada showcasing the voices and stories of people and Elders over 55. Their goal is to raise awareness of and mitigate ageism by producing work that explores “how all of us embrace and/or confront our lives and the passage of time”.
Jay Brazeau in The Ballad of Georges Boivin presented by Western Gold
Behind the scenes of The Ballad of Georges Boivin presented by Western Gold
Dr. Henderson is working with the actors/creators from Western Gold (where she has also been Creative Accessibilities Facilitator since 2022) to create a series of “Having a Senior Moment” TikTok videos using #SeniorMoment. This project started in an effort to begin reclaiming this term whilst also promoting the company’s annual Having a Senior Moment New Play Festival, which began in October 2023.
Each Tik Tok will be devised together by an older adult content creator and a student Technology Facilitator to create and share a meaningful moment from the older adults’ life. The project aims to spark more TikToks that reveal unexpected interests and talents, highlight important relationships, and showcase the creative, inspiring and humorous aspects of life as an older adult.
3. Intergenerational climate action workshops
In this stream of her research, Dr. Henderson and her team are using arts-based approaches (such as photography, video-making, collage and theatrical devising) to explore and discuss intergenerational conflict relating to climate change. There is a popular discourse in climate justice that focuses blame on older generations, which can spark intergenerational conflict and ageism (associated with negative health outcomes), and which ultimately disrupts collaboration for meaningful climate action.
By engaging youth and older adults together in conversation and in the co-creation of low-waste, ethically-aware artworks, this research project strives to develop knowledge and practices that can be used to promote intergenerational understanding that can be repeated on a larger scale.
4. Divesting possessions of meaning when transitioning to a care home
The life transition of leaving a long-term home is a common experience for many older adults, and often involves downsizing and divesting of objects, spaces, and technologies of support. This can be a complex process for individuals and families, given how everyday objects are connected to identity continuity, wealth, relationships, achievement, responsibility, reciprocity, sense of place, meaningful activities (or “occupations”), and the passing on of life stories.
In this area of her research and as part of the wider Aging in Data research initiative, Dr. Henderson and her team will work with older adults who are leaving a long-term home. In researcher-participant pairs, they will identify possessions of meaning that cannot be transferred to the new home environment, and co-create artistic products that curate/archive/keep these valued possessions.
As the conclusion of the research project, each researcher-participant pair will also co-create a performative sharing event for an audience of the participant’s choice, for the purpose of transferring memories held in material objects to embodied memories.
Future research development
Follow the development of Dr. Henderson’s research projects through our OSOT social media channels and in our quarterly newsletter.
You can also follow updates from UBC’s Edwin S H Leong Centre for Healthy Aging:
Images: UBC OSOT, except for person on stage (@yokeboy/Unsplash), images from the Creatus project courtesy of Dr. Henderson, production shots from The Ballad of Georges Boivin presented by Western Gold, One World placard image (@Markusspiske/Unsplash), and packing boxes image (@Allysphotos / Unsplash)