It was so brilliant to see the steady stream of pushchairs coming into the building again last week for the first of the new look Art Baby sessions.

We’ve been doing this work for over 10 years now. Art Baby started back in 2012 and has been one of our most popular programmes (with both visitors and staff!). We had to take a break during the pandemic period but during that time we were busy working with artist Sarah Marsh from @thesensorytoolkit to create a new collection of objects we could use for these baby sessions.

We worked closely with Sarah to create a bespoke collection of handmade art objects, to be used by babies and their parents/ carers, to support sensory engagement of the gallery and art works.

These objects explore and experiment with fabrics, pattern, textures, forms, shape, shadows, sound and smell creating emotive and immersive experiences for babies and their parents/carers. Sarah has used fabrics that she has collected from all over the world including India, Poland, Japan and China.

Art Baby sessions are free to attend and run on the first Friday of the month (check the website for details). We know how hard it is to get out of the house with a baby so we’ve made your life easier by not having a start time. You can drop in anytime between 10:30am  and 2:30pm and stay for as little or as long as you like. There’s no need to book you can just come along.

These sessions are for babies who have not yet found their feet. If you have a Walker, toddler or pre-schooler then our new PLAY Days are perfect for you. The run on the second Friday of the month.

Art Baby will run in our new School of Creativity space which is on the mezzanine floor. Just past Mary Kelly’s lit up shed you will see the lift to take you up.

For more details you can contact our Producer (Early Years and Families) on Lucy.turner@manchester.ac.uk