Photo exhibit shows pandemic through the cameras of older adults
Vancouver can be a lonely city, even more so for older people. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic forced residents to stay home.
Vancouver can be a lonely city, even more so for older people. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic forced residents to stay home.
Before the pandemic, UBC PhD candidate Callista Ottoni had been planning to study the role social connections play in the health of older adults. Stay-at-home orders foiled her plans to interview her participants in person, but they gave Ottoni another idea: She asked them to take photos of moments where they felt either isolated or connected.
The images provided an intimate, deeper window into their lives, and became jumping off points for interviews by phone or Zoom that informed Ottoni’s recently published research.
“Too often older people are depicted as simply vulnerable, and I was motivated to undertake this research to challenge that stereotype,” Ottoni says. “I was blown away by participant stories of resilience, new friendships, and seniors reaching out to help other seniors.”
The images will go on display Sept. 28-Oct. 12 in an interactive exhibit at Barclay Manor in Vancouver’s West End. The event is free and open to the public. Visitors will have an opportunity to respond to the images with written comments posted on the wall.
Ottoni looks forward to meeting some of her 31 study participants in person for the first time.
Media are welcome to the launch event on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 10 a.m. Please contact Erik Rolfsen at erik.rolfsen@ubc.ca if you wish to attend. Interviews with researchers and participants can also be arranged separately.
Interview language(s): English, Spanish