Today, people live longer and longer. But if 60 is the new 40, what’s your life like after you retire? What are our expectations and hopes for the final quarter of our life? How do we fill and structure our days? And what is the status of senior women in today’s society? Silver Boom is a performative intrusion of senior women in public space, staging a group of local citizens. The piece questions the relationship between city space, gender, and age.

The experienced woman in public space

A woman’s body is under meticulous scrutiny for any signs of aging. But the presence and representation of experienced women remain hidden from the public. When and why does a woman’s body become invisible? The performance examines the integration of the so-called “senior” age group in contemporary societies. How can the experience and knowledge that these residents embody, add value to our coexistence? What opportunities does public space have to offer to our experience citizens – and in particular: What can it offer experienced women?

Constructing the process of aging

The work is interested in the emergence of a collective consciousness of these questions through the celebration of experienced women in an urban landscape: Similar to the way in which gender research assumes that social gender is not an unchangeable attribute, but is rather “constructed”, it assumes that the process of aging is also heavily influenced by social expectations and cultural norms, and thus possible to design.

This participatory performance deconstructs the movement norms in the city and defends the presence of the woman’s body in the public space. What can we learn from these knowledgeable bodies? What wisdom and stories do these women have to tell us? What images and sensations do they send back to us?

Silver Boom opens a poetic breach in daily life. It allows residents to reclaim the environment, while making room for experienced citizens. A piece that is repeatable in different cities: A disruption of the daily rhythm in the city, intended to enable us to reflect on our values as a society.

Credits

Anna Anderegg – concept and choreography

Nina Gazaniol – video

Milica Slacanin – scenography / visual concep

tMarie Reverdy – dramaturgy

Hana Zeqa – costume design

Arnauld Pirault – oeil exterieur

Johanna Hilari – oeil exterieur

Marco Barotti – sound design

Nadine Becker – production

James Moore – curation-production ØIT

Thea F. Bringsværd – project coordinatation ØITLive Skullerud – project coordinatation ØIT

Co-produced by:

Østfold Internasjonale Teater (NO) Bildstörung (DE)CHAR – Centre Helvétiques des art de la rue (CH)Tobs (CH)L’Atteline – Lieu d’activation art & espace public, Montpellier (FR) Teatri Oda (XK)Lieux Public (FR)Forum Culture (CH)

Supported by:

NPN – Joint Adventures (DE)

IKUBIA – Foundation (DE)

Kanton Bern (CH)

City of Biel (CH)

Stanley Thomas Johnson- Foundation (CH)

SSA (CH)