We will be taking over Weston Park Museum for Learning Disability Week, with an exhibition and series of free workshops exploring the lives of Sheffield’s learning disability community.
Learning Disability Week runs from 17th – 23rd June 2024, with the theme ‘Do You See Me?’. The annual campaign aims to raise awareness of the lives of people with a learning disability and ensure they are a visible, valued part of society.
We are celebrating this year by exhibiting a series of photographic portraits of our members (shot by local photographer Joe Horner) at Weston Park Museum, open until the end of June. The exhibition also features a series of free, drop-in workshops that are co-produced and delivered by our members.
Our member Keith's portrait features his favourite song 'Three Little Birds' by Bob Marley
We invite you to drop-in to Weston Park Museum to participate in these creative workshops together with our members. Each session will explore the theme of ‘Do You See Me?’, providing visitors with a unique opportunity to find out more about the lives of people with a learning disability. Experienced tutors will support members and visitors as they work together to create ‘portraits’ using acrostic poems, collage and drawing.
There is also a special session for children and families featuring art and craft, active games and fun challenges – with prizes to be won! There will also be screenings of a short film made by a group of children with learning disabilities from Sheffield Mencap’s Saturday projects.
See below for full details of the drop-in sessions, and head to www.sheffieldmuseums.org.uk/visit-us/weston-park-museum to plan your visit.
Our Community group enjoyed visiting the Weston Park exhibition
We hope the exhibition and workshops will increase the visibility of Sheffield’s learning disability community, telling their stories to a wider audience. Although people with a learning disability are thankfully no longer routinely separated from mainstream society, there remains a divide. We are aware that, unless people have a friend or family member who has a learning disability, they may never interact with this group. We want people to leave this exhibition seeing similarities rather than differences. We can’t wait to welcome visitors to our workshops, and our members are really looking forward to sharing their talents!
Jennifer Baldwin, Service Manager of Activity Learning Hub
‘Do You See Me?’ drop-in workshops at Weston Park Museum
