Reconnecting and Re-visiting Blether TayGether!

For this week’s blog post, we’re taking the opportunity to re-visit our recent ‘Reconnect’ work with the Blether TayGether sessions, developed for a group who are supported by Alzheimer Scotland in Dundee.

Throughout the programme the sessions were developed to support engagement with the museum collection and exhibitions and provide a bespoke and personal learning and engagement experience to combat the social isolation that this group, and many of us have experienced over the past year.

Over the 10 project sessions, we explored our current temporary exhibitions Time and Tide: The Transformation of the Tay and A Love Letter to Dundee: Joseph McKenzie Photographs 1964-1987, had two session with our exhibition curators to learn how these exhibitions are developed and curated and worked through the project ‘Memory Journal’, alongside listening to clips from the museum’s oral history collection to support and facilitate discussions and sharing of personal stories and memories.

Screengrab of Blether TayGether session.

Now these sessions have finished, we’re delighted to be able to share some feedback from our participants and project team.

Participant Feedback

Interactive, helped to facilitate conversation.

Jogged my memories and good for sharing experiences and stories.

[I] liked the dancing and social life theme.

 [I enjoyed] the social space. [I was] lovely chatting with people and meeting people. We’ve all been so isolated, in these four walls.

Learning more about Dundee, which we didn’t know about.

Memories, made me think about all the places I’d been, reflected on my own memories.

Interesting listening to other people [and] reflecting on my own memories that related to [each] topic.

Staff Feedback

[The sessions] have changed my perspective on what our tea and blether group can be.

Group enjoyed the curatorial input from Anna Robertson and David Lampard.

We all agreed that there were some challenges when working across digital video platforms. Participants and staff felt that the technical side of working remotely presented some difficulties. We encountered some problems getting into the Microsoft Teams meetings, muting and un-muting microphones, microphone feedback and sound distortion, and some found it difficult to read facial expressions and body language to make sure that people didn’t speak over one another. However in general, participants felt that the social connection and friendships that were developed were more important to support and no-one was put off too much by the technology.

Keep up-to-date with ‘Reconnect’ through our online and social media channels as the project progresses!

The project has been made possible thanks to Art Fund support and additional funding from Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust.

The McManus ‘Reconnects’!

We are delighted to be able to share with you our newest learning & engagement project, Reconnect! This is being delivered by the team whilst home-working and we are very swiftly grasping the skills to navigate zoom, teams and messenger!

Delivery of ‘Reconnect’ will enable The Creative Learning Team to continue to provide rich valuable cultural experiences remotely, for community groups with long-term health conditions and local family groups, enhancing positive cultural participation and ensuring that isolated and shielding participants can still benefit from the rich experiences the museum has to offer whilst the doors are temporarily closed.

We are thrilled to be working across the museum with our colleagues, cultural partners and freelance artists to support those most in need. Participant groups involved are from Alzheimer Scotland, Home-Start Dundee and Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust.

All project activities have been co-produced and are designed to spark imagination and support shared, remote learning experiences, utilising the museum’s new temporary exhibitions ‘Time and Tide: The Transformation of the Tay’ and ‘A Love Letter to Dundee: Joseph McKenzie Photographs 1964-1987’ as creative catalysts throughout the project. Both exhibitions narrate Dundee’s stories through film, photography, audio, objects and artworks from across the city’s collections and celebrate the influence the River Tay has had and still has on our city.

Activities include digital reminiscence sessions and tutor led zoom sessions to develop skills in photography. A wide range of family friendly digital activities, free art kits, and artist-led art activities, as well as specially choreographed museum-themed online dance sessions. Participants will also have a wide range of opportunities to share their own stories and co-produce final project artworks and publications.

Members of the ST/ART group during a ‘Reconnect’ photography session.

Keep up to date with our social media channels and our team blog to learn more about the project and the amazing work being created and facilitated throughout Reconnect!

The project has been made possible thanks to Art Fund support and additional funding from Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust.