Living Portraits
Living Portraits is a series of 16 short films celebrating the lives of older residents in Winchester and Corby.
These digital portraits were created as part of an inter-generational participation project.
Each digital portrait was inspired by an older participant’s life, home environment and experiences.
Students from Winchester School of Art, St Swithun’s School and home-schooled students became artistic collaborators as they learnt to create these digital portraits. They attended a whole series of workshops with professional film makers, theatre makers, historians and meetings with older people.
Originally exhibited as part of Woolly Hat Fair 2017, Hat Fair 2018 and Grow Festival 2018.
Living Portraits was originally part of Hat Fair’s Celebrating Age project – a two year programme of arts activity for, with and about older people.
Hat Fair's Celebrating Age featured three distinct projects:
- Four Score Years and Ten (Tour): A play inspired by the lives of Winchester’s 90-year-olds, specially commissioned to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday year.
- Living Portraits: 16 short films celebrating the lives of older residents in Winchester and Corby.
- Recycled Silent Movie: Recycled footage from local archives and stories from participants will be combined to make into a 20 minute film.
All three Celebrating Age projects explore the realities of life as an older person in the UK and celebrate positive images of older people through theatre and film.
Special thanks to our local partners St John’s Winchester for hosting the showcase event in Winchester and to the team at Grow Festival for hosting the showcase event in Corby.
We would also like to thank everyone who collaborated in this project including SDNA, Flintlock Theatre, Dan Murphy, Hampshire Records Office, Corby Borough Council Collection, Brendoncare, Winchester Live At Home Scheme, Age Concern Hampshire, The Core, Corby and Made In Corby for their support.
The Celebrating Age project is funded by the Arts Council England and Baring Foundation Celebrating Age grant.
