Balanced News: The women proving old age isn’t a dreaded tragedy

Artist Mig Dann was 81 when she was awarded a PhD from the School of Art at RMIT University. Dann, who worked for David Bowie in Paris and New York in the 1970s, had been making sculptures for decades, but had never been to art school or thought of herself as an artist. Dann is one of 20 women born before 1947 profiled in Time of Our Lives, a book that celebrates the late-life achievements of women and challenges the stereotype that older people are a burden on the community. In 2011 Dann enrolled in a Bachelor of Fine Arts and discovered her long and rich life not only fascinated staff and students but helped inform her art. Most of the women profiled in Time of Our Lives are still working and some are even doing significant work in their 90s. Ageism is entrenched in our society and older women are often addressed in patronising terms such as “dear” and “young lady”. The book poses a