Everybody is talking about disruptive businesses and disruptive innovation. Many startups today hope to create disruptive innovation in businesses that will eventually displace established market-leading firms, Uber, Amazon, Apple and Netflix are just a few of today’s great disruptors that have changed the way we live and disrupted the industries that they operate in.

Since the beginning of human history, we have been trying to find ways to stay young- to disrupt the ageing process. In 2011, when my book The Second Half of your Life was published, it became clear to me that ageing well could be helped. Growing older is not a time of inevitable mental and physical decline. Many of the so called age related declines could be slowed down or even prevented by positive lifestyle changes and integrating them into our everyday lives. I call them my ‘Five a Day’ :

1. Exercise

2. Nutrition

3. Have a Purpose

4. Have a Passion

5. Stay connected to Family Friends and Community

This inspired me to start in 2012 The Second Half Centre at the NHS St Charles Centre for Health and Wellbeing - a place where the over 50’s could come, make new friends, have fun and live these ‘Five a Day.’

The Second Half Centre quickly became a community hub, now offering 85 hours of activities to over 6000 members. The Second Half Foundation is currently working with Open Age, Barclays Bank and the Church of England to create Second Half Clubs in churches on days not of worship in London.

We know that health and well-being are not just addressed in the clinic or doctor’s office, but through interventions in people’s everyday lives. What we do after 50 is as important as what we did before 50.

Participating in the creative arts is one way to disrupt ageing

Why the arts? Research has shown that the engaging in the creative arts has the ability to increase social engagement, improve health, cognitive functioning, quality of life and longevity. Artists are role models for successful ageing. They stay productive and engaged throughout their entire lives. Becoming a second half artist gives us the ability to tap our potential, express ourselves and share our lives and interests across generations.

Everywhere, people are reinventing what it means to age and we have so much to learn from these Age Disruptors- to live our best life with each passing decade.

Please support these 10 amazing Second Half Artists by purchasing their work. Thank you in advance for all your support. Half of everything you purchase goes to support these artists and the other half to the work of The Second Half Foundation

With thanks and best wishes,
Jill Shaw Ruddock CBE
Founder and Chairman: The Second Half Foundation

Open Age runs and manages The Second Half Centre at St Charles Centre for Health and Wellbeing. Second Half Foundation gifted the Centre to Open Age in 2015 and is so grateful to Open Age for their amazing work to inspire and engage the over 50s throughout Londo