Exhibition 'And breathe…' in Manchester Art Gallery
And Breathe… is an exhibition of artworks from our collection that has been co-curated with a community mental health group and a group of primary school pupils to explore the relationship between art, positive mental health and wellbeing. The groups and gallery staff worked together last year in a series of mindfulness sessions in the gallery’s art stores and have developed an exhibition designed to encourage people to slow down, connect with art and themselves to enhance their wellbeing.
The exhibition mixes the historic with the contemporary, moving from 19th century seascapes, to more abstract, surreal and modernist works and contemporary photographic pieces by a diverse range of artists including Ben Nicholson, Peter Lanyon, Catherine Yass and Marcus Coates. The colour scheme, seating, height of art works and interpretation have all been developed to encourage people to relax and spend time in the space and a special audio resource with a range of timed mindful meditations will be available. The exhibition will take a seasonal approach with works by Yves Tanguy, Gwen John and Barbara Hepworth included from November 2018.
