NICA is heading to Somerset House to flip the script on ageing.

NICA heads to the London Design Biennale at Somerset House to Flip the Script on the outdated tale of what it means to age.

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People getting their hands cast

In only a few weeks time, the National Innovation Centre for Ageing is taking part in the London Design Biennale at Somerset House. The Biennale starts on June 1st and is on until the end of the month.

Flip The Script

We want to Flip the Script on what it means to age and so this is the name of our exhibition.  Why? Because at The National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA) we believe now is the time to Flip the Script on the outdated tale of what it means to age.

Over the past few months we have been inviting people to share their stories and have their hands cast as a tile to be included in the installation. It’s been a fascinating journey and the work behind the scenes has been a great team effort. There has been various stages of the project from making the models, mixing the alginate and constructing the exhibition stands. Roseanne  Wakely, a Senior Innovation Consultant at NICA has been the mastermind behind the entire project and has been responsible for overseeing all stages of the process.

Roseanne Wakeley making hand casts

We asked participants which aspect of the ageing process they would like to share with us. These questions were:

  • Looking to the past, what has life taught you so far? We want you to share your words of wisdom.
  • When have you wanted to flip the script? We want to hear about a time when you challenged society’s expectations around age.
  • Looking ahead, what do YOU want for yourself and what do you think SOCIETY should do to ensure a longer, healthier and more joyful future?

Participants then provided a hand cast in one of three positions:

As well as the physical installation for the London Biennale we will be creating a digital tool to capture our collective insights to help us create the new story on ageing. We call this ageing intelligence.

The reality of ageing

We know everything will change as the population of over 60s is set to double to 2 billion by 2050. This is an incredible opportunity to start new and global conversations around healthy ageing and to challenge negative stereotypes around age by celebrating what we gain as we age, share how we are challenging stereotypes and share our hopes and plans for the future.

The Biennale at Somerset House has attracted 200,000 visitors, from across 68 countries.  We can’t wait to showcase all of your stories and hand casts in London.