Summer Research Snapshot: Luisina Figueroa Garro

Having moved from Argentina to Dublin in June 2026, the first few months have been a period of adjustment, both personally and academically. Alongside getting to know a new city and culture, I've been finding my place within the Co-Create community and developing a clearer understanding of the programme's wider ecosystem. Creating a visual map of the partner organisations proved particularly useful, helping me see how the different PhD projects connect and where my own research sits. A significant part of this early phase has also involved building relationships with colleagues across Co-Create. Those conversations, together with ongoing discussions with my supervisors, have helped to sharpen my PhD focus.

My research explores ageing and retirement as a key life transition, drawing on ideas from cultural gerontology, social imaginaries and life course perspectives. I'm interested in how cultural expectations around ageing influence experiences of visibility, agency and belonging, and how care can be understood through relationships, communities and wider social systems, rather than solely through healthcare.

Building on these interests, I've recently become curious about visual culture and the ways ideas about ageing circulate through images, media and design. While still exploratory, this feels like a promising avenue for thinking about how later life is represented, what becomes visible or invisible in public discourse, and how alternative ways of imagining ageing might emerge. As my research develops, I'm building a glossary of key terms to help me use concepts more clearly and consistently.

I'm feeling much more connected to both my immediate PhD cohort, especially through regular exchanges of ideas with Chelsea, and the wider Co-Create community. Overall, the initial settling-in period is giving way to a more focused phase of research and a clearer sense of the contribution it might make within Co-Create.  And ... I'm especially excited that my beloved dog Sabina is joining me in Dublin this September, so expect to see us around!