Beauty and Goodness in Old Age – Lectures and Workshop (2024) (in Finnish: Kauneus ja hyvyys vanhuudessa – luennot ja työpaja)
As part of my studies in the Art Expertise programme at the University of Lapland, I carried out a small-scale art-based exploratory study examining older people’s experiences of everyday aesthetics. The project was implemented at Sointu’s Lähitori meeting places in Tampere. At that time, Lähitori sites functioned as local, low-threshold service points offering guidance and a wide range of cultural and artistic activities (Kartano, 2023).
As part of my studies in the Art Expertise programme at the University of Lapland, I carried out a small-scale art-based exploratory study examining older people’s experiences of everyday aesthetics. The project was implemented at Sointu’s Lähitori meeting places in Tampere. At that time, Lähitori sites functioned as local, low-threshold service points offering guidance and a wide range of cultural and artistic activities (Kartano, 2023).
The project included two lectures and a workshop, where we discussed aesthetics, encounter, and the kinds of everyday situations in which older people experience beauty, meaningfulness and goodness. The discussions also brought forward more shadowed aspects of life, such as loss and loneliness. These conversations and observations formed background material for my master’s thesis.
The project approached everyday aesthetics as an experiential phenomenon—how spaces, encounters and small moments in daily life can give rise to aesthetic experiences, also within care environments. It also highlighted how older people, including those with cognitive and functional frailty, were eager to reflect on the subtle qualities of encounter and what constitutes a good encounter overall—what elements it may consist of at its best. (Image: Sointu Senior Services)