LATA 65

"Scientific
developments and the democratization of access to health services in the last
half-century have brought, among other things, the increase in average life
expectancy. In any country considered developed, we know that we won't be so
easily struck down by diseases like our ancestors. Thus, there is in each of us
the clear notion that we have a fair amount of years to live, and this is, in
fact, an admirable achievement of mankind, gained in a very short time of
History.

But, as it is
well known, quantity is not quality. And quantity without quality is just a big
curse. As a society we are still trying to learn how to approach these recently
won extra years, which we call “third age”.

In Europe, a
relatively small territory there are many countries and many cities where the
population ageing phenomenon is easily detectable. In the squares and gardens
of the cities we see fewer and fewer baby strollers and more and more groups of
retired people whose lives were not dynamically reworded."

"With these certainties lived in our daily lives, we have been observing also, in every new intervention conducted by WOOL – Covilhã Urban Art Festival, the simplicity and ease with which urban art reached the most varied age groups, particularly the 'resident' older people in our areas of action.

These were and are the
ones who always become our companions and spectators at all hours. Daily we watch day and night pilgrimages of senior citizens who get out of their homes, not to
go to the usual mass or card game, but to follow every detail of the paintings.
We heard a thousand stories on what it could be appearing on the walls and it
moved us hearing things like “today I feel more safe with the image of the shepherd, who accompanies me everyday at the window”."

"OBJECTIVES |

LATA 65-Urban Art
workshop for seniors, has emerged as a challenge to take this interest shown by
urban art beyond, with objective intentions:

 - to prove that
concepts such as ACTIVE AGEING and intergenerational solidarity make more sense
every day;

 - to demonstrate
that Urban Art has the POWER TO FOMENT, TO PROMOTE AND TO VALUE the
DEMOCRATIZATION OF the ACCESS to the Contemporary ART;

 - to bring the
less young closer to a form of artistic expression usually associated with
younger ones;

- to demonstrate
that age is just a number."

"FORMAT |

The template
designed to 'verify these intentions' was simple: join small groups of people
who have passed the age of retirement and assisted by urban artists, in a relaxed environment, they are taught about the history of Graffiti and Urban Art, various 'technical terms', and techniques to work in the street and finally, go outside to share with
the world their ideas on a city wall.

These two
components, theory and practice, are required in every new theme or technique
of urban intervention under analysis, in order to achieve one of the primary
objectives of this workshop, the recognition 'of what you see on the streets' and how it is done."

"LATA 65 | day 01

module 01 | historical context 

images from the 1st workshop

2012. november"

"LATA 65 | day 02

module 02 | tag

images from the 1st workshop

2012. november"

"LATA 65 | day 03

module 03 | stencil 

images from the 1st workshop

2012. november"

"LATA 65 | day 04

module 04 | mural

images from the 1st workshop

2012. november"

"LATA 65 @ walk&talk | day 01

module 01 | historical context

module 02 | tag

images from the 3rd workshop

2014. july"

"LATA 65 @ walk&talk | day 02

module 03 | stencil

module 04 | mural

images from the 3rd workshop

2014. july"

"LATA 65 @ OPLX | day 01

module 01 | historical context

module 02 | tag

images from the 4th workshop

2015. january"

"LATA 65 @ OPLX | day 02

module 03 | stencil

module 04 | mural

images from the 4th workshop

2015. january"

"In all actions taken, the enthusiasm shown by the students was enormous, seeming that this project, of real collaboration and sharing, wakes up a forgotten creative spirit, and above all, brings the feeling of pure fun, which is essential in any age."

"But to vouch for
these ideas, we present some first-person TESTIMONIALS |

 “… it is an
innovative way to show society that the elderly are not to be put aside. ”, Dr.
Isabel Brito (Technical Director of CSPA)

 “… they come with
a young spirit that fascinates me…”, Dr. Isabel Brito (Technical Director of
CSPA)

 “… extremely
motivated. ”, Dr. Isabel Brito (Technical Director of CSPA)

 “... now I
look at the walls with different eyes, I know what's in front of me on the
street.”, D. Lurdes aka Armando 

“… while I'm
here, I don't think about the hours and days left until I die. ”, Mr. Manuel
aka Balé

 “… I found something to live for…” , Luísa Cortesão"

"CONFIRMATIONS |

 - it is possible
and DESIRABLE to AWAKEN, MOTIVATE and EXCITE the elderly through Urban Art;

 - it is desirable
to present to these generations NEW ACTIVITIES, NEW TECHNIQUES associated with
youth, as a way to escape and to break routines, GENERATING QUALITY, JOVIALITY
and WELL-BEING in their lives."