JOY - The Digital Version

JOY
The JOY Team | Newcastle | 2020
Karen Ross, Project Lead
Juliet Chenery-Robson, Photographer
Alex Henry, Facilitator
Supported by the UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing

JOY
Joy1 n.1. Vivid emotion or pleasure, gladness. 2. Thing that causes delight (OED)
The JOY project came out of a growing exasperation with popular culture and
especially advertising’s messages that ageing for women is a process we should
try to halt or at least mask. And that the only future for the older woman is a
dystopian one of bodily failure and intellectual loss.
At the same time, some voices suggest that we are blighting all our children’s
futures with our selfish insistence on remaining alive but pathetic into our 90s,
causing an intolerable burden on society.
For many of us in our 60s, 70s and 80s, these identikit/identigit old hag/bags
are unrecognisable as people like us because we are enjoying our lives, working,
loving and contributing to the lives of others and to our colleagues, communities,
friends and families.
While we acknowledge that too many people are living in poverty, in poor health
or loneliness, age is not the only causal factor and the JOY project is a corrective
to the discourses of abject decline, celebrating the power of positive thinking and
engagement with life.
In summer 2019, the JOY team invited local women in Newcastle to share with us
the things that bring them joy through story-telling workshops which centred on
both the tangible as well as the more fleeting moments of joyfulness.
What bring us joy is many and varied, from the feel of sun on a cheek, to holding
new life in our arms, from swinging in hammocks to making music with others,
from taking photos of nature to playing fetch with our dog, from family gettogethers
to the glorious solitude of a mountain top.
This exhibition was co-created with some brilliant women who gave up their time
to tell us about their moments, days, weeks and lifetimes of joy. The exhibition
comprises collages, word cloud and film (that can be viewed by clicking here)
which feature all the participants, and a set of portraits which feature some of
them. This is what JOY looks like to us: we hope it brings a moment of joy to you
as well. Click here to view the exhibition in The Catalyst.
Thanks to a great group of women for making this a wonderful project to work on.
Karen, Juliet & Alex

making crazy loud music and leaping about with friends
in the band, slash-and-burn gardening,
then sitting in the shade of a tree I planted - balance
Fin
sassy, loud, and proud,
in my mutton-dressed-as-lamb
I’m strutting my stuff!
Janet

here, strength becomes glide, becomes a return to
beginnings
Carla
at one with nature on this historic ship, an amazing
adevnture while learning new skills
Judith

joy is in my heart; its gift sets you free: remembering
Emily Wilding Davison and hopeful for future
generations of girls and women
Penni
playing the piano is rewarding, I feel like a
professional musician!
Rajinder

gently working the flock, the breeze in my face, the look in their eyes,
what joy and hope they bring into my life
Aileen
Floss brings me joy and unconditional love: we work as a team on the
agility course and share in the enjoyment of success
Christine

joy of life, life of joy: listening to birds singing, walking in countryside &
urban nature reserves & cherishing the joy of a lesbian life
Lisa
allotment and me, and sunshine makes three, I’m happy in my green
heaven!
Jane

in my hammock I feel luxurious, at one with myself and nature, relaxing
into the freedom of space
Louise
joy comes from my roots in South America: objects in my home
remind me of happy days and my wonderful mother
Isabel

there’s more to me than meets the eye!
Shirley
I love my morning shower, a clean sheet of paper, a sharpened
pencil, the smell of spring and the day spread out in front of me
Suzy

with many thanks to
...our fabulous JOYful participants
Aileen Hay
Anwar Bibi
Barbara Willis-Clark
Bernadette Askins
Bernie Wright
Bridget Cuthbertson
Carla Grosch-Miller
Catherine Mackereth
Cecilia Dalrymple
Charn Kaur
Christine Parker
Doreen Hardy
Elizabeth Atton
Ellen Pethean
Farida Rehman
Fin McMorran
Hilary Fawcett
Isobel Horseman
Jane Gifford
Janet Longbottom
Joan Girdlestone
Judith Rust
Kate Hinton
Lesli Godfrey
Linda Willis
Lisa Hunt
Liz Potts
Louise Evan-Wong
Minakshi Pagul
Naseem Aktar
Naseem Laatif
Pauline Curwen
Penni Blythe
Prakash Kaur
Rajinder Kaur
Rashida Choudry
Sarah Kemp
Shirley Hallam
Shishta Quereshi
Suzy Varty
Urmila Bhalla
Yvette Haimes
Zeenat Bibi
Please leave us your thoughts on the exhibition by
clicking HERE
© Newcastle University Photography credit: Juliet Chenery-Robson