‘Health Rocks’ at Manchester Museum The 'Health Rocks' project is collaboration between Start in Manchester and The Manchester Museum. Start in Manchester is part of Manchester Mental Health and Social Care NHS Trust. Using art and horticulture, they help people to improve and maintain mental wellbeing, develop coping strategies and self-‐care skills, and regain the confidence to move back into mainstream life. Having worked with Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Museum were impressed with Starts credentials and sought to explore ways of working that would broaden the participants who joined their ‘In Touch’ volunteer programme. However, what developed out of their conversations was a 12 week arts and wellbeing course at the museum. The course connected people interested in wellbeing to the fossil and mineral collections of the Museum. Participants were asked to come and work with The Manchester Museum to explore ways of using the collections to inspire creative artworks and wellbeing ideas. Participants were recruited from current Start users and members of the public who signed up at earlier taster sessions held at the Manchester Museum. The Manchester Museum wanted to ensure that both persons who have been diagnosed with mental health issues and those who were self referring were able to participate in the project. As Gurdeep, Thaira, Curator of Community Engagement (Outreach) noted ‘People might also have non diagnosed illnesses, but have made a decision to do things differently and address their own issues’. This project would benefit them. The course included art workshops, curators' talks, visits to see and handle the Museum's collection of fossils and minerals held in store, and mindfulness exercises (mindfulness is a technique that uses our senses to bring us into the present moment, which is proven to benefit wellbeing). The course led to a selection of artworks being made, including hand-‐ made books which form part of the ‘Health Rocks’ exhibition on display in the Museum’s Rocks and Minerals gallery. A wellbeing trail was developed which comprises a walking and thinking tour based on five objects from the Pre-‐historic and Rocks & Minerals galleries. There are also five simple, enjoyable exercises to try based on the 'Five Ways to Wellbeing' campaign (Connect, Give, Keep Learning, Take Notice and Be Active). The project has had long term impact. The five key themes of wellbeing have been picked up for use in the redevelopment of the permanent gallery ‘Living Planet’. Some participants in the course have gone on to join the ‘In Touch’ volunteer programme. Others continue to meet as a group in the museum space and the Museum is looking at further opportunities to develop their interests.
‘Health Rocks’ and The Manchester Museum is one of the six participating museum and galleries in Who Cares? Health, wellbeing and museums a programme funded by Renaissance North West. The programme explores health and wellbeing through museum collections and gallery spaces. Further Information: Curator of Community Engagement (Outreach) Gurdeep Thiara – 0161 275 8768 gurdeep.thiara@manchester.ac.uk Start in Manchester http://www.startmc.org.uk/ tel : 0161 257 0675/0510 Start devised a gallery partnership scheme which delivers mental health services in art galleries, in partnership with gallery staff. The gallery partnership scheme has recently been listed as one of ten most innovative services in the whole NHS by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement. • Manchester Art Gallery and Start in Manchester project and exhibition ‘Held’, 2009 http://www.manchestergalleries.org/whats-‐on/exhibitions/index.php?itemID=48 • Whitworth Art Gallery and Start in Manchester project ‘Now Voyager’, 2006 http://www.startmc.org.uk/exhibitions/voyager.php
To find out more about the Manchester Mental Health and Social Care NHS Trust, visit www.mhsc.nhs.uk/ To find out more about Who Cares? Contact Myna Trustram, Research Manager, Renaissance North West, m.trustram@manchester.gov.uk