This paper focuses on the exclusion of older adults, especially those that are minoritised, from ideas of creative citizenship and digital innovation. It posits that words like ‘creativity’, ‘culture’, ‘digital’ and ‘innovation’ often foreground young, able-bodied, fast talking, mobile imaginaries that are at odds with the lives of many minoritised older adults. Meanwhile, digital innovation is often seen as central to many of the ‘problems’ of ageing populations, with older adults often seen as passive, frail and in need of care by those designing technologies (Peine and Neven, 2021). This means the focus of digital innovation is often on standardized health and care technologies that fail to understand and respond to the rich and diverse lives led by older adults, especially those who are minoritised.

This paper draws from the ‘Connecting through Culture as we Age’ project which explores how participation in all forms of arts and culture, particularly those accessed digitally, can influence wellbeing and feelings of social connection as we age. We are working with 19 co-researchers aged 60-75 who are either disabled, socioeconomically or racially minoritised. The co-researchers are involved in a digital innovation process, in which their voices, lived experiences and expertise shape the co-design of digital cultural experiences and products.

Drawing on our research, this paper challenges mainstream approaches to digital innovation that identify a ‘problem space’ from the start, especially in the context of the ‘crisis’ of demographic ageing. Instead we ask what it might mean if we start by understanding the local, situated everyday lives of older adults that we are designing for. We introduce the participatory creative methods that have enabled us to explore the unfolding of co-researchers’ day-to-day lives in place. We then draw on non-representational approaches (Thrift, 2008) to share stories that bring to life the relational, material and affective interdependencies emerging through creativity and connection as it plays out in the everyday lives of minoritized older adults. We attempt to make our data ‘dance a little’ (Vannini, 2015) through the words, poems and images created by co-researchers. In so doing we hope to offer ideas that expand beyond current youthful imaginaries of creative citizenship and to break down the boundaries and exclusions written into ideas and practices surrounding digital innovation (for healthy ageing). 

Helen Manchester is a Professor of Participatory Sociodigital Futures at the University of Bristol and is currenting running an UKRI Healthy Ageing funded research project ‘Connecting through Culture as we Age’. She is also Co-I on the newly funded ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures. Helen is interested in ageing futures, co-design and participatory methods, social connectivity, culture and the arts. She develops methodologically innovative approaches to research in collaboration with artists, technologists, civil society organisations and policy-makers. 

Alice Willatt is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol, based in the School of Education. She currently works on a UKRI Healthy Ageing funded research project, ‘Connecting through Culture as we Age’. She holds interests the voluntary and community sector, ageing, care, creativity and culture. Her work is grounded in participatory research approaches that value the experiences and knowledge of the people and organisations with whom she researches, and their ability to use this knowledge to create social change.