Art director Nadyne Kasta was approaching her 50th birthday when inspiration struck. She wanted to commemorate the milestone through photographs of other women her age. The idea came to her after seeing repeated media coverage of 50-year-old celebrities praised for “redefining 50” based on physical looks alone. It wasn’t something she could relate to, nor what she felt were the best aspects of her life. That’s how Project 50 came about.
Nadyne Kasta. Photo: Rémi Thériault.
“I think the images (and women) were meant to be inspiring and to make other women feel empowered, but they had the opposite effect on me,” said Kasta in an email to Apt613. “The message I got from them wasn’t that 50 is amazing and strong but, rather, that it’s great to be 50 so long as you don’t actually look like you’re 50. I wanted to put something into the world that would serve as an antidote to that experience, so I made Project 50.”
Launched in December, Project 50 is a collection of six photographs of women posed in front of colourful backgrounds. The photos by Rémi Thériault are accompanied by profiles where the participants answer questions like, “What does 50 feel like for you?” Kasta is featured in the project, along with Carole Brown, Natalie Fraser, Marisa Gallemit, Manon St-Jules, and Amy Thompson.
Each woman offers a slightly different answer to the questions, revealing the diversity of being 50. Gallemit, for example, says, “50 feels like a true coming of age,” whereas St-Jules admits that “it feels a little scary” for her. Kasta added that while the 50-year-old celebrities in the magazines are beautiful, learning about how people feel and what they have experienced at their age is more important to her: “The inside stuff is so much more juicy than the outside stuff.”
None of the women’s faces in Project 50 were retouched since Kasta wanted to show the participants “as they really are.” She feels that women featured in fashion media should be transparent about how they achieve their seemingly flawless appearance: for example, how much they work out or the cosmetic procedures they’ve had. “Let’s just be honest about what we’re presenting to people so we know what we’re looking at and what’s involved in looking like that.”
The women of Project 50. Photos: Rémi Thériault.
One of the questions is about whether or not the women would go back to a younger version of themselves. Answers vary, but Kasta answered that one with a hard no.
“I think the way you answer that question is directly related to how much hardship you’ve had before this point or how difficult the first chapter of your life has been. I’ve had a great life so far, I’ve done a lot of wonderful things and I’ve had my share of privilege. But I’ve also experienced a decent amount of hardship. I had cancer when I was younger; one of my parents died by suicide; another died suddenly of a stroke. Going back and reliving those experiences is not the least bit appealing to me. Also, and maybe more importantly, I’m just a sensitive person, and it’s taken me a long time to figure out how to be in the world without having it break me into a million pieces over and over again. I wouldn’t trade that resilience for anything.”
Kasta went on to say that, delightfully, people of all ages have shown an interest in the project: “I’d forgotten that reflecting on your life, looking ahead to your future, trying to avoid or minimize regret and hoping for the best—these things are not specific to 50-year-old women. In fact, they’re universal.”
Project 50 is viewable online at Nadyne Kasta’s website. Nadyne Kasta created this project with House of Common Studio. Photography is by Rémi Thériault, with photo retouching by Maryn Devine and makeup by Yelena Perunov.
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