161 The Hidden depths of older people, with Laura Page
Laura Page is an artist, photographer, photojournalist and socially engaged practitioner. That means she uses art and photography as a way to help people to express themselves, have their own voice and share their views within their community. Liverpudlian Laura’s focus is on society and politics, aiming to produce work that leads to positive social change. She has a particular interest in the older age group and has recently completed an important project called ‘Hidden Depths’, funded by winning the Rebecca Vassie Memorial Award. Hidden Depths involved Laura photographing and gathering the stories of 31 over-80-year-olds, to show the rich lives many older people live. She wanted to challenge the ageist stereotypes we see too often. Laura saw first-hand how these 80 and 90 year olds were living a third or fourth new lease of life. Hidden Depths led to further film projects and Laura’s beautiful, inspiring photos being used in projects such as the Stop Ageing campaign.