The world is rapidly growing older, and everyone’s seeing doom and gloom: Soon there will be more walkers than strollers in the streets; we’ll all have Alzheimer’s and bankrupt the system; too many of us will be gray and feeble and there won’t be anyone to care for us…

Enter the alternate world of Grey Power.

Created by Amsterdam based design student Yoni Lefevre, Grey Power challenges ageism by bringing to life drawings of their grandparents made by four children.

Clearly, kids don’t agree that as we grow older, we lose our vibrancy. Lefevre decided to let their vision change the conversation.

“I once read that 90 percent of the time the elderly are in the news, they’re depicted as pathetic, lonely,” she told the online design mag Co.Design. “But there is a growing group of seniors who don’t fit this profile. I want to give these people a voice and show that aging is still a positive thing.”

After the children made their drawings, Lefevre asked her mother’s pedicure clients to pose for photographs; Nick Bookelaar took the pictures. The result: color, joy, humor – a true picture of seniors.

Lance’s grandma: maker of things bright and beautiful.

Roel’s grandfather: powerful and playful.

Raf’s grandma: a painter with a think for red.

Anne’s granddad: octopus arms  let him fish, garden, paint and play ball all at the same time.

“Children do not regard their grandparents as grey and withered, but as active human beings who add color to their lives,” Lefevre writs on his website. “Their fresh perspective can contribute towards a more nuanced and positive view on the composition of our society.”

Go, Gray Power!

To read more about Lefevre’s series, click through to Co.Design.
Click here to visit Grey Power on Yoni Lefevre’s website