Older People
Some of our longest standing partnerships and most ambitious projects are with groups of older people
Older people make up a large part of the gallery's audience and we value their input and the support they give to the gallery. This is reflected in our community projects with groups of older people, all of which are designed in collaboration with the participants and many of which have resulted in artworks of very high quality. See below for past projects with groups of older people.
"Participating in a project at the gallery is very beneficial to us as old people for our health and our spirit. We can come out of our house and do something and contribute to something in the gallery. We feel more fulfilled in life and have something to look forward to."
Wai Yin Chinese Women's Society participant
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Object memories
2004
Personal stories and interpretations of our Chinese collections by Chinese people living in Manchester.
Elders from the Wai-Yin Chinese Women’s Society explored Manchester Art Gallery’s collection of Chinese artefacts and wrote their own interpretations about the objects. This project resulted in a display in the Gallery of Craft & Design of the objects and text written by the group between 2004 and 2010.
Project partners: Wai Yin Chinese Women’s Society
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Dragon boat
2003
Members from Wai Yin Chinese Women’s Society Elders group worked together with ceramic artist Steve Dixon to create a sculpture of a Dragon Boat. The aim was to create a work of art that expressed pride in Chinese culture by heralding the rich history of ceramic art in China and reflecting the cultural and physical journey from China to Manchester. The Dragon Boat was on display in the Pride section of the Manchester Gallery between 2004 and 2011.
Project partners: Wai Yin Chinese Women’s Society
Funding: Co-operative Insurance Society
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Our second home: Wai Yin 20 years on
2009
Members of Sheung Lok: Wai Yin Women's Society elderly luncheon club worked with Manchester Art Gallery and textile artist Nina Chua. Together they created a dress, which commemorates the twentieth anniversary of the founding of Wai Yin. The garment is inspired by the achievements of Wai Yin over the past 20 years and Manchester City Galleries Chinese decorative arts and costume collection. The dress was on display in the Manchester Gallery between 2009 and 2011.
Project partners: Wai Yin Chinese Women's Society
Funding: Working Neighbourhood Fund, Arts Council England
Image © Manchester City Galleries
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My heroes
Stories of inspirational people.
2005
Five members of the local African Caribbean communities shared their stories of people who have inspired them. Drawing on the themes of heroes as explored in the Black Victorians exhibition, a film and display of personal objects that related to the exhibition were developed to create a contemporary record of black British heritage for future generations. These were incorporated into the exhibition from October 2005 to January 2006. The film was on display in the Manchester Gallery between 2005 and 2010.
Image © Andy Lawrence
Project partners: Urban Voice
Funding: Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, Co-operative Insurance Society
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Our Selves
2006
Exploring stereotypes and misconceptions with Age Concern’s Lesbian and Gay Social Group ‘Out in the City’.
Members of Age Concern’s Lesbian and Gay Social Group ‘Out in the City’ explored pre- and misconceptions in portraiture. They developed their own personal portraits by working with visual artist Jane McIver and photographer Ray Chan. A display of the portraits were shown in the Manchester Gallery during LGBT History Month in February 2006 and was also part of Pride 2006.
Image © Ray Chan
Project partner: Age Concern Manchester
Funding: Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, Co-operative Insurance Society, Age Concern
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Pilkington's has inspired...
2010
Four animations inspired by our collection of Pilkington's pottery and informed by the participants' memories and experiences.
Members of LMCP Care Link (a support group for carers) and Wai Yin Chinese Women Society's older people's group workied with artist Tamzin Forster to produce four animated films.
They were inspired by themes from nature and Aesop’s fable, The Fox and the Grapes, found on Pilkington’s pottery and tiles. These prompted reminiscences of childhood, home and storytelling.
"These sessions have reminded me of my childhood – some hidden things in myself have come out."
"It's been a good experience making animation and we’ve found its not as difficult as it sounds to make animation."
These animations, along with the pottery and tiles that inspired them, were on display in the exhibition Exporting Beauty (Saturday 9 October 2010 - Sunday 9 October 2011).
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Art Treasures Community Programme
2007
People from Collyhurst and Harpurhey, Rusholme and Wythenshawe create artwork inspired by the Art Treasures exhibition and the history of their local area.
Inspired by the content of the Art Treasures exhibition, nine groups of local people from Wythenshawe, Rusholme, Harpurhey and Collyhurst developed their own artwork celebrating their individual and community heritage over the past 150 years.
The fruits of this programme were exhibited in four unique exhibitions between October 07 and April 08.
Project partners: NCH Foundations, Churnet Street Sheltered Housing, The Addy Young People's Centre, Family Action Benchill, Tree of Life, Crescent Community High School for Girls, Birch Community Centre, Wythenshawe Forum, North City Library, Platt Fields Lakeside Centre.
Funding: Heritage Lottery Fund, Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.
Image © Manchester City Galleries
If you belong to a community group in Manchester and you’d like to find out more about community projects at Manchester Art Gallery, contact Ruth Edson or Leisa Gray on:
Tel: 0161 235 8877 or 0161 235 8844
Email: l.gray@manchester.gov.uk, r.edson@manchester.gov.uk
For a full list of projects, see the links on the left.
English Corner
Practice speaking English with others. Every second Wednesday of the month. Free. no need to book, just turn up.