Free Admission
And Breathe… is an exhibition that explores how we can nurture our mental and emotional wellbeing through interacting with art. Evidence shows that taking time to savour experiences, such as looking at art, can increase our mental wellbeing. In this exhibition, we invite you to slow down and connect with art mindfully, moment by moment.
Working with communities we have explored how we could support their and the wellbeing of the public by creating a space that would enable this slowing down and mindful connection to take place. The artworks and the way they are presented were inspired by our community participants and their responses in a series of mindfulness sessions. Furniture, colour scheme, height of art works, text and a series of audio meditations have all been carefully chosen in a way that we hope will enhance wellbeing.
For the current showing of And Breathe… we have considered the theme of care, how we care for ourselves and our communities. To grow our understanding of the role a gallery can play in supporting carers, we have co-curated this exhibition with staff from Depaul UK, a charity to help young people who are experiencing homelessness, along with friends of the artist Kate Davies, whose work you can see in this display.
Manchester Art Gallery would like to thank all of our friends who have helped to shape this and previous versions of And Breathe…
March 2018 – September 2019
Start in Manchester, Manchester Mind
Year 5 and 6 pupils from Charlestown Community Primary School.
September 2019 – January 2020
Friends of the artist, Kate Davies
Staff from Depaul UK in Greater Manchester
The exhibition is part of the gallery’s wider Mindful Museum campaign that aims to raise awareness and promote understanding of how mindfulness can be used within the cultural sector to promote good health and wellbeing.
We’ve produced a series of audio meditations to accompany the exhibition