We are inspired by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai who believed that the older he got, the better his art became.

“From the age of six I had a penchant for copying the form of things and from fifty my pictures were frequently published; but until the age of seventy nothing I drew was worthy of notice. At seventy-three years I was somewhat able to fathom the growth of plants and trees, and the structure of birds, animals, insects and fish. Thus, when I reach eighty years I hope to have made increasing progress and at ninety to see further into the underlying principles of things, so that at one hundred years I will have achieved a divine state in my art and at a hundred and ten, every dot and every stroke will be as though alive.” – written by Hokusai in 1835 at the age of 75

Hokusai is currently exhibited at the British Museum: Hokusai: Beyond The Great Wave 

Left: Hokusai self-portrait as fisherman*

*He changed his name more than thirty time over his ninety years, finally signing himself Old Man Mad about Painting

Top and bottom right: Hokusai self-portraits at the age of 83

Coming of Age Report
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Coming of Age Report
As a society we tend to view ageing as a ‘problem’ which must be ‘managed’ – we frequently debate how to cope with the pressure on national health services of growing numbers of older people, the cost of sustaining them with pensions and social care, and the effect on families and housing needs.  The core message in this report is that ageing in itself is not a policy problem to be solved, but is in fact a unique experience for each individual, which varies according to personal character- istics, experience and outlook.  Contrary to assumptions, many of the older people who participated in our research found that ageing was a positive experience, which had brought them greater confidence, peaceand self-acceptance.  However, they also commonly experienced age discrimination and age-based social stereotyping. A number of participants felt that negative social attitudes towards older people were exacerbated by policy narratives that disproportionately emphasise the costs posed by an ageing population but do not adequately recognise the contributions that older people make,including financial contributions through taxation
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Click below to read and/ or download the report