Ageism is the last ‘allowable’ bigotry and is significantly responsible for the structural nonsense, daunting medical bureaucracy, hasty erroneous decisions, and indifference thathave created medical collapse. As we age, we experience decreased quality of life, life expectancy, and increased financial burden. We are treated by practitioners, at best, with kind paternalism, to, at worst, institutional abuse, such as the abuse and deaths in seniors' facilities revealed during the Covid pandemic. Ageism is often a forgotten category of marginalization.

Certain Age Collective is a group of five older female artists, aged 61-75, based in two provinces. After lifelong art practices, united by a shared desire for feedback and critical discourse, we have been meeting online for the past five years. All of us also share debilitating chronic back issues. Among us, add diabetes, Parkinson’s, cancer, and fibromyalgia. One has Medical PTSD from years of insufficient and inappropriate care.

All of the above impacts our wellbeing and our art practices.