16 British Columbia artists, men and women, senior both in years and professional stature, share their personal take on life, the human condition, aging, the passage of time, and the search for meaning and purpose in life
Aging is a hot topic these days. Aging boomers consult experts on how to prepare for old age, how to look younger, how to save for retirement, how to maintain their brains and bodies at peak performance. But artists are accustomed to living on the fringes of society—on the outside, looking in. They are typically less conventional, more experimental, more critical of society, and often poorer, less secure, and more isolated than the average citizen.
Since opening in June of 2011, 
Vancouver therapist Michael Pond says that at least once a week a client asks him, “If I get therapy can I get off this medication?” Michael’s typical response, 
How much money you make is more important than what you eat, how much you exercise, or even your genetic make-up, says Dr. Ritika Goel. She’s a family physician whose interests lie in the health and well-being of marginalized communities including those in the inner city of Toronto, rural Canada as well as internationally. 
In Canada, one-in-five people experience a mental illness in their lifetime. However, it is young Canadians that suffer the most, with 75% of mental health problems and illnesses beginning prior to the age of 25, and more than 50% beginning between the ages of 11 and 25.