Artist by technology: experiences of mature and older adults in Brazil during the pandemic

E. R. S. Discussant: P. C. Castro ISSUE “We don't just want food, we want food, fun and art”, are singing The Titãs, a famous rock group in Brazil. In the same way, live of older people is not just about health and basic services, quality of life is crucially related to doing activities that are creative, that open up opportunities for expression and are also be just fun. Active participation in cultural, artistic or leisure activities is not easy for most older people even under normal circumstances. Under pandemic conditions, which imposed strict social isolation especially on older people, it seems almost impossible. CONTENT In this pandemic situation, Information and communication technology (ICT) and artistic inspiration together can open new horizons for mature and older adults. This symposium will present three studies in which older people discover, learn and practice artistic activities using ICT. STRUTURE The first study, realized by Slodkowski, presents a course for 60+ making stop motion films. In a distance learning course, 32 participants learned how to plan a stop motion film, work out the scenery and characters, deal with recording and software and finally add text, music and language to the film. The study shows the relevance of the digital authorship competence for the participants, as well as the challenges, they faced. The second study, realized by Teixeira, presents the creation of the audio drama podcast entitled “Sexagenarte - life does not stop”, a project developed virtually, together with eight older people, including 4 with visual impairments. Using elements of theater exercises, the project consists of seven stages: comprehensive interviews; awareness dynamics; story scripting; essay; recordings; collective edits and listening and lead older people into the artistic-virtual field. The last study, presented by Kohlrausch, discusses the importance of leisure activities based on the theoretical background of Stebbin's theory of serious leisure. The eight participants in this qualitative study are amateur musicians who started to use information and communication technology as a possibility to maintain their leisure. Using ICT changed their way to rehearse, learn, share, disseminate their musical activities. CONCLUSION The three studies conducted during the pandemic show the potential of ICT for artistic activities by older people, who usually have little experience in the digital world. On the one hand, it becomes clear how cultural and artistic activities can contribute to well-being, the preservation of identity and social standing. On the other hand, they show ways of using technology to help older people with reduced mobility practice social participation and cultural activities even if they are physically far away. Purpose This study was conducted as part of an online course for older adults in which participants created a stop motion film, from conception through production to the finished film. Stop motion film is understood as a language that allows the student to express their thoughts, feelings, vision of the world, and materialize them through concrete materials in order to tell a story and involve the spectator. Thus, Rodrigues (2018) characterizes the creation of stop motion films as a pedagogical tool capable of evoking creativity, developing students' autonomy and critical thinking capacity. The aim of the course was to develop digital skills and digital authorship through the production of the film. The paper analyzes the participants' perception of this process. Method This research is qualitative and applied, concepted as an exploratory case study. It therefore provides the opportunity to empower the subjects to share their experiences and stories (CRESWELL, 2014). According to Yin (2016), this type of investigation can show the views and perspectives of the participants and the data elucidates evidence, meanings, and/or real facts. Hence, this approach delves deeper into the target audience's technological experiences. Two types of instruments were used for data collection: online questionnaires and participant observation. There were 32 research subjects who were older adults between the ages of 60 and 78 who already had basic computer competencies and participated in the CineSênior course in 2021. The course was intended to provide tools for the group 60+ to build a stop motion film focused on the subject of quality of life during the pandemic. There was a total of 36 classes, comprising 108 hours overall in the distance learning modality due to COVID-19. Results and Discussion The data show that 94% (n=30) liked being a digital author and 6% (n=2) did not like it. Therefore, 85.3% (n=29) of the older person indicated that it was a good experience and Figure 1 illustrates that their greatest motivation for producing the film was to express their personal experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, 35.3% (n=12). Furthermore, they indicated four main benefits of production for their quality of life: creativity 38.2% (n=13); memory 11.8% (n=4); manual activities 5.9% (n=2); and satisfaction 5.9% (n=2). However, three main challenges were highlighted: mastering the technique 28.57% (n=9), learning something new 17.14% (n=7), and creating a story 14.29% (n=5). Thus, it is possible to see the relevance of the digital authorship competence for the older persons lifelong learning, as it can provide opportunities for them to not only be digitally included, but also for them to become autonomous and accomplished authors through the creative process of audiovisual production. Purpose This research aims to present the process of creating the audiodrama podcast entitled Sexagenarte - A Vida Não Para (Sexagenart - Life Does Not Stop). It is a project developed virtually, together with eight older people, during the most critical period of the pandemic in Brazil. Among so many consequences, the pandemic generated the social isolation of the world population, with greater vehemence for the older population. The loss of conviviality limited interpersonal interactions, transforming virtual platforms into inviting techno-convivial environments to experience artistic-digital inclusion actions with the older adults, as is the case of the presented study. In the last decade, Brazil has become one of the largest podcast producers and consumers in the world (VOXNEST, 2020). Among the most relevant productions, audio dramas stand out, sound objects similar to old radio plays (SPRITZER, 2005). In this art scene, the eight “new old bodies” (WEBER, et al, 2020) that make up the podcast Sexagenart lend their voices to narrate, through eight episodes of original audio drama, some auto fictional memories of their own biographies. Method The qualitative and applied research is an audio drama creation process developed in a remote-virtual way, between 2020-2022. Eight participants, aged between 66-86 years old, all residents of the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, participate in the project, including four visually impaired people. The project consists of seven stages: comprehensive interviews (LALANDA, 1998); awareness dynamics; story scripting; essay; recordings; collective edits and listening. Result and Discussion The process of creating Sexagenart led to the launch of the eight original episodes on the sound streaming platform Spotify, available to the general public in portuguese. Virtual artistic creations are configured as ways to share knowledge through techno-conviviality. The methods undertaken to adapt the digital environment to the technological knowledge of the participants, make the Sexagenart project a multidisciplinary action that opens paths to expand the digital inclusion of older people to the artistic-virtual field. Old age and intergenerationality are highlighted as protagonists, praising the trajectories of older people through audio dramas based on real stories. Conclusion The new old bodies that lent their voices to the project, promoted and produced sound art in pandemic times. They turned the precariousness of technical resources into a powerful multidisciplinary laboratory that combines dramaturgical writing procedures with techniques of vocal expressiveness and acting in audio drama. In addition, it provides spaces for listening, friendship and solidarity that value the life trajectories of elderly people, potential victims of Covid-19. thus contributing to the well-being and maintenance of identity and social roles that contrast with the negative image of aging widespread during the pandemic.