MK Gallery Sensory Tour Project

Oct 2, 2025

Our Craft Workshop has been collaborating with MK Gallery for several years. Our partnership began with the sale of hand-printed products at the Festive Market in 2017, followed by our involvement in MKDAD and the You See Me Moving Forward exhibition in 2018. In 2023, we contributed to the A is for Artist exhibition. In 2024, creating special textile products for Vanessa Bell: A World of Form and Colour. Since then, we’ve also started selling handwoven products from the Weavery Workshop.

This year, MK Gallery invited us to create a sensory tour, in collaboration with Collar & Cuffs Co., for their exhibition Paz Errázuriz: Dare to Look. From the Craft Workshop, Liam, Anna, Vicky, Lee, and Mustafa expressed interest in joining the project. We worked together over the course of four sessions during the summer.

In the first session, the group met sensory artist Julia and support artist Robin. They introduced the Chilean photographer Paz Errázuriz and shared some background on Chile’s history. Everyone had the opportunity to visit the exhibition and choose a favourite photograph. Each participant then described why their chosen image resonated with them. Vicky selected a photo of a nun sitting quietly against a wall, reading what appears to be a Bible. This image reminded her of attending a Christian school with her siblings. She also noticed the woven chair and ceramic tile floor—materials she regularly works with in the Pottery and Arts & Crafts Workshops.

Based on the participants’ descriptions, Julia gathered sensory objects for the second and third sessions. While touching objects in the gallery is usually not allowed, sensory experiences—such as sight, sound, smell, and touch—can help people with different needs engage more deeply with the exhibition. Due to gallery restrictions, we avoided strong scents and tastes.

Liam and Mustafa both chose a photograph of a smiling wrestler with his family. They imagined the smell of sweat from the image. Since we couldn’t use actual sweat, they experimented with oils and perfumes to create a similar scent, which they placed on a cotton pad inside a tin box. Anna chose a photograph featuring birds and envisioned using twigs as her sensory object. Julia brought a pottery bird flute, and Anna decorated paper-collaged eggs to accompany it.

In the final session, each participant recorded a video introducing themselves and their chosen photograph. It was moving to see how confidently they spoke on camera. Lee went first and did an excellent job, encouraging others to follow. We celebrated after filming, and everyone expressed interest in participating again next year.

A special mention goes to Mustafa, a day service user who is visually impaired. Mustafa was very keen to get involved, sharing his experience of sight loss with the group and how he can appreciate art in different ways. He thanked the group, who were thoughtful and inclusive, always considering how to describe images and pass objects to him.

Julia and Robin shared that the Camphill team was cohesive and had an evident passion for art from the first session, quickly engaging with the project on a deep level.

The exhibition closes on 5th October; the sensory tour objects will travel with Paz Errázuriz: Dare to Look to another gallery. We hope our contributions help others connect more meaningfully with the exhibition.