In 1995, the Canadian federal government made the second Sunday of September Grand-parents’ Day. Even seventeen years after its inception this celebration remains unknown to the majority of Canadians.  Meanwhile, as issues surrounding the aging of the population capture more attention, it appears essential to promote Grand-Parents’ day among the population. This celebration offers and opportunity to reflect on situations and problems faced by elderly citizens such as isolation, “ageism” as well as on issues of dignity.

Taking this context into account, the Saveur de sagesse public intervention will take place on Grand-parents’ Day, the 9th of September. Taking as a point of departure the traditional image of the “wise” (in French “sage”) and the contemporary image of the “burden” that are associated with the elderly, this project seeks to bring the youth closer to older generations through fortune cookies. Every cookie is to contain a word of wisdom offered by the elderly residents of CHSLD Providence Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes. The public intervention will consist in distributing the cookies to passer-bys/participants. In exchange, these participants will express their gratitude to the elderly.

 

Originally from Japan, Risa Hatayama has been living in Canada since 1997. After her studies in Film and Video Production at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary, she decided to settle in Montreal. She has since earned a BFA in photography from Concordia University in 2005 and is currently completing a master’s degree in visual and new media arts at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Her work has been exhibited in Canada, France, the Czech Republic and Japan.

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