The art of living well as we age

WHAT kind of old would you like to be? Energetic, enthusiastic and vibrant, or lonely, reclusive and bored? We want to be the best, but how?

The answer is art, says Mike White, a senior research fellow in arts in health at the University of Durham, who addressed an international conference, celebrating the European Year for Active Ageing, in Dublin last month on the issue of ‘creating a new old.’

“The most consistently expressed benefit in taking part in art activities is that it did wonders for their self-esteem and increased their confidence, which indirectly benefits their health,’’ he says.