I’m delighted to share the news that I have been working with the brilliant Pete McKee on a project for Festival of the Mind.

Pete is an artist from Sheffield known for his distinctive style and evocative images. His most recent exhibition This Class Works was a phenomenal success. For those of you unfamiliar with Pete’s work, you can check it out here.

The Festival of the Mind consists of a programme of events that celebrate unique collaborations between University of Sheffield academics and Sheffield’s talented professionals from the cultural, creative, and digital industries.

Our project, the Age of Love (#AgeOfLove), is an exhibition which illustrates the prejudice and discrimination that older adults often experience around sex and intimate relationships.

Here’s a short description:

The aim of the project is to present a visualisation that makes us think about the intimate and sexual relationships of older adults.

The population of people aged 60 and older in Sheffield is approximately 120,000. That’s enough to fill the Sheffield Wednesday FC Stadium three times over. We know that many older adults enjoy sex and intimacy, that they are important to quality of life, but that they experience barriers to talking about this with partners, friends, and health professionals. The topic is sensitive, and almost always private.

Relationships are central to human life, and one of the most important we have is that with our intimate other. But stereotypes about ageing can interfere with sexual expression and enjoyment, even preventing older adults from receiving appropriate help for a sexual concern.

Sharron has carried out research into this area since 2001, and Pete has long created art that depicts close, interpersonal relationships. Together they plan to make the invisible visible, and get Sheffield talking.

When: Thursday 20 – Sunday 30 September 2018

Where: Art House, Sheffield (S1 4HJ)

Free to attend but at busy times you may need to book a slot on the day

Hope you will come and view the exhibition!

Thanks to the University of Sheffield for supporting our work

Thanks Pete and team McKee: it’s been brilliant working with you 🙂