BY: EDITORS

Forget hard candy or plastic covered furniture, these grandmas are far from your typical Bingo Bitches. LATA 65 is an urban art project that takes senior citizens to the back alleys of Lisbon, Portugal and puts spray paint cans in their hands. Through hooliganism they are proving that age is just a state of mind.

LATA 65 is an urban art project that takes senior citizens to the back alleys of Lisbon, Portugal and puts spray paint cans in their hands.

Ageism is the casual or systemic discrimination against senior citizens because of their age. In Western society, the elderly are often highly segregated category of the population. The U.S Census Bureau reported that 11 million senior citizens were living alone. That means 28 per cent of people 65 or older are at high risk of senior isolation, which besides being emotionally strenuous can also have latent affects on physical and mental health.

LATA 65 has taken over 100 senior citizens on street art campaigns to the neglected neighbourhoods of Lisbon.

LATA 65 has taken over 100 senior citizens on street art campaigns to the neglected neighbourhoods of Lisbon. Their mission is two fold—1.) Bring vibrant colour to communities with the blight of poverty and 2.) Use Graffiti as a way of vaulting the intergenerational culture gap that exists in modern society. By helping the elderly understand that things that were once considered deviant (like Graffiti) have now become a prominent form of art in public space they hope to inspire a greater understanding of youth culture. By showing that senior citizens are just as badass as unruly teenagers, the hope is that they can find something in common.

We hope it doesn’t inspire an intergenerational gang war. You’ll know GGG has tagged your neighbourhood by the Werther’s Originals wrappers that are left trailing behind. Seriously though, don’t fuck with them.

Image sources: messynessychic.com