Art exhibition pops up in the Mill Gate

Art created with the help of care home residents will be on display in Bury’s Mill Gate centre on Saturday 7 June.

The Museum of Us is a pop-up exhibition and event, open (at 35 The Haymarket) from 10.30am to 3pm.

The project is the brainchild of artist Helena Tomlin who has been working with staff and residents at Spurr House residential home in Unsworth. Each Wednesday they shared stories and ’evocative’ objects to make drawings, watercolours and prints and to experiment with clay.

Helena then went back to her studio to make work inspired by the experience, which will be displayed in the Mill Gate alongside the objects and details of the artwork made on Wednesdays. It will include objects from Bury Art Museum and an art table where visitors can experiment with the materials used by residents with Helena at Spurr.

Helena said: “The project was developed in collaboration with Bury Art Museum after the success of the House of Memories project, which trained carers of older people in using collections of museum
objects.

“Imagination, collaboration and the welcoming of the unknown were key ingredients for making The Museum of Us. As a group we created unexpected encounters between objects and stories - bringing together ideas in unusual juxtapositions: a dynamic example of the art of ‘curating’.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in the making of The Museum of Us. It was made possible by the generous spirit of all the residents and staff at Spurr House and the support of Bury Art Museum. Photographer Joe Gardner sensitively recorded our work each week and thanks go to him also.”

The aim of the ‘pop up’ exhibition and event at the Mill Gate centre is to provide inspiration for further work between museums, artists and adult services, to pave the way for more Museums of Us.

ENDS

Press release issued: 29 May 2014.