For the latest in our Radical Acts of Creative Ageing Fanzine series, we feature storyteller and artist Sita Brand who offers a powerful perspective on the role of story, curiosity and listening as we grow older.
For Sita, storytelling is not simply an artform – it is a way of understanding ourselves and each other. Her work often centres on gathering stories from communities and elders, revealing the extraordinary lives that exist within everyday people. She believes the way we ask for stories matters.
“When gathering stories with older people,” she says, “don’t say, ‘can you tell me what you remember?’ Say, ‘tell me stories you have never been allowed to tell.’”
She challenges the idea that ageing is only about looking back. Instead, Sita sees later life as a time of courage and creativity.
She speaks about the importance of learning throughout life, pointing to her own mother, nearly 101 years old, who is currently researching and preparing a talk on the art and culture of the Chola Empire. For Sita, examples like this challenge assumptions about ageing and remind us that creative growth never has to stop.
Equally important is the willingness to engage with perspectives that may feel uncomfortable. “When we are able to face the beast, to look at what we may not like, to listen to the stories of those whom we don’t agree with, we are able to open our minds and therefore open our hearts,” she explains.
In an increasingly divided world, Sita believes elders bring a vital quality: perspective. “What ageing gives you is the wisdom to know that you can experience differences and that you can still learn and understand from one another.”
For Sita, radical creative ageing begins with listening to ourselves, to others, and to the stories still waiting to be told.
See the Fanzine here.
Creative Ageing: Development & Agency 