Open doors, Manchester Art Gallery (MAG) (2014 - 2017)

An autism-friendly session at Manchester Art Gallery, UK.

Once a month, the gallery doors open early to allow families and carers to explore the gallery and artworks with their children in a relaxed and comfortable space. This sensory-focused workshop supports open-ended play and learning through sensory-inspired materials and activities.

For 2.5 years I ran the sessions as lead artist and temporary Family Learning Manager. The observations I made in the session transferred into the installations and environments I designed for the Clore Art Studio, Manchester Art Gallery and Clore Learning Studio at Tate Liverpool.

This research has provided me with a heightened awareness of the sensory needs many people require, and an interest in the development of creative language through the connections we make with our surroundings.

This strand of work has developed into leading and consulting on autism-friendly holiday workshops at Tate Liverpool. In March 2017 I presented my ideas at the London Royal Academy of Arts 'Why & How' conference.

In 2017 I worked with the learning team at Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art, Gdansk to implement autism-friendly strategies within their programme. Read more here.