The noise and over-stimulation of the modern world gets too much for many of us.
Room to Breathe is a dedicated space to help you experience art in a more mindful way. You can see a variety of works from our collection and listen to original audio guides to help you to explore the art using mindful techniques. Furniture, colour scheme, number and height of art works, text and audio meditations have all been carefully chosen in a way that we hope will encourage deeper engagement with art and reduce stress.
This a room for you. To rest. To recover. A room to breathe… (Manchester Art Gallery)
“Creative Influencers is a group of young people who come together to talk about how spaces in Manchester can be more accessible to all young people. This happens once a month” (Aziza)
“Today I started the day by waking up early and going to Creative Influencers where there is a lot of people I like” (Astrid)
“So today we went to Manchester Art Gallery for our Creative Influencers and we did some mindfulness exercises which was really therapeutic and then we made really abstract collages which was really fun and calming” (Lois & Keleisha)
“It was a nice space to work in as the surroundings were interesting and eccentric. We went to one of the exhibitions there. It was called “Room to Breathe.” It consisted of a room that had only two paintings and a couple of comfortable chairs. The exhibition was created to encourage mindfulness and taking time to observe art” (Lucy)
“The heads of Creative Influencers book/rent a new workspace every week, and we brainstorm ideas for the future and we can also go to plays. Today we went to the art gallery, looked at artworks, and made our own collages.” (Vivie)
“So today I went to Manchester Art Gallery. The best thing about today was catching up with everyone and getting Greggs in the morning”
How they did it
They came back into the creative classroom space and with the help of A3 paper, scissors and glue we were on the way. They used the ‘ Extraordinary things to cut out and collage’ by Marie Rivans. You could use any old newspapers or magazines and other collage books are available. Begin with the centre of the paper and build outwards. Cut the images you want to use, place on the A3 paper and once you are happy start to stick them in and on top of each other. You can use themes e.g. Animals, a new world, architecture or food. As you apply the images as an extension you might want to add meaningful words, or poetry that is significant to how you are feeling in the moment. These pieces are expressive, insightful and really good fun! Allow the conversation to flow whilst collaging it’s as much a part of the process.
Keep an eye out for the Creative Influencer’s next adventure, where they will be exploring protest at the People’s History Museum!
