A Life Well Lived – Age UK Ealing in partnership with BEAT

This year, Age UK Ealing is thrilled to be working with BEAT – the Borough of Ealing Art Trail – to bring some of the voices of our wonderful service users to life.

With further support from local organisations including the University of West London and The Ealing Project and sponsors including Tetley's, Everyone Active and Bread Street Cafe Ealing, the A Life Well Lived project is a collaboration that will celebrate the experiences, achievements and lives of older people across Ealing.

Over the past few weeks, we have been working with BEAT to bring eight talented local artists and eight Age UK Ealing volunteers and service users together to create something very special.

Each artist has been paired with an older person who has a connection to Age UK Ealing – either as a Day Centre visitor, or as someone who has previously accessed our Befriending or Information and Advice services. Throughout August, the artists will be working with their partners on a series of unique pieces of artwork that will celebrate older people, tell the story of each individual, and amplify their voice in a uniquely creative way. 

The finished artworks will be on display for the public to view at Ealing's newest cinema and multi-functional community space, The Ealing Project, from early September. Each piece will also be displayed at the London School of Film, Media and Design, as part of BEAT's annual art trail, which takes place on 10-11 and 17-18 September 2022. 

The artists and their partners are:

• Alex Ebdon, Chair of BEAT and a highly experienced painter in his own right, and his partner Patrick, who arrived in England from Jamaica in the 1960s and has many stories to tell
  
  
• Gareth Hurley, an artist who specialises in using oils, and his partner Carol, a former Age UK Ealing Trustee, volunteer fundraiser, and champion Big Knit knitter
  
  
• Kerry Kent, an artist who works across mediums including film, animation and textile collage, and her partner Jaishri, a widow and proud mother and grandmother
  
  
• Kerry Kent is also working with Stephen, an Age UK Ealing Customer Services Volunteer who has travelled to more than 40 different countries
  
• Sally King, a mixed-media licensed artist who works across many styles, and her partner Joy, an opera lover with a strong interest in all things spiritual
  
  
• Maggi Marmion, a portrait artist and street photographer, and her partner Liz,a former BBC employee who is Age UK Ealing's longest-serving volunteer
  
  
• Consuelo Radclyffe, a sculptor and ceramic artist who also creates textiles using the heat press technique, and her partner Christine, sister of Joy and another dedicated Age UK Ealing volunteer
  
  
• Joel Sydenham, a self-taught visual artist and poet, and his partner Maria – an Ealing resident for nearly 54 years who arrived in the UK from Poland in 1968
  
  
• Stella Tooth, a portrait and performer artist who  also draws on her experience as a journalist to tell her sitter’s story in words, and her partner Marie, an orphan who had a difficult upbringing in an Irish nunnery before arriving in London as a young woman

Speaking about the project, Kerry Kent – one of the project’s artists and also an Age UK Ealing Trustee – said:  

“We’re thrilled to be working on such an incredible project. It is a joy to be able to highlight just some of the many wonderful stories our staff hear regularly from our community members. A Life Well Lived is a real celebration of the older people who live in and around Ealing, so we are also very grateful to the partners and sponsors who are helping us shine a light on these marvellous  individuals.” 

Alex Ebdon, Chair of BEAT, says: 

"We are really excited about this project and working with Age UK Ealing to unleash the power of art for social good. Art is so powerful in the way it can connect people emotionally to different ideas. "We can't wait to see how the connections between our artists and their partners unfold, and the stories they will bring."

Nick Vergara, Director of Culture, Engagement & Partnership for the Ealing Project, says:  

"Ealing Project is delighted to support A Life Well Lived. This collaboration fits hand-in-hand with our ethos of being more than a cinema through acting as a platform for the local creative community in delivering projects with tangible social impact. We are excited to see this creative work come to life and celebrate each individual story in our exhibition space in September!" 

Lizzie Rice, Community Development Manager for Everyone Active Ealing, says:   

“Everyone Active in Ealing is very excited to be involved in this community project. Similar to Age UK Ealing, Everyone Active’s mission is to support the local community to live longer, healthier and happier lives. We support our local authority to tackle a number of  challenges, including social isolation and healthy aging. We are proud to be supporting A Life Well Lived, and we believe this will have a positive impact on the local community.” 

Gharry Eccles, President of Tata Consumer Products International Business, who are sponsoring the A Life Well Lived project, adds: 

“As a local company home to much loved brands like Tetley, Tata Consumer Products is all about community and creating moments to come together.  The important work that Age UK Ealing does and its role as a facilitator of community is a great fit with our values. We’re proud to be associated with the BEAT project and look forward to seeing the lives of these important members of our community being portrayed in this creative way.” 

Stay tuned for more to come