ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Museum of Art and Photography (MAP), Bengaluru, in collaboration with Quicksand, is working towards designing a Toolkit composed of reflective activities featuring a curated collection of art-based exercises, that initiate conversations on mental health by expanding the ways in which people express and engage with their feelings. The toolkit will comprise a curated selection of works from the vast collection that The Museum of Art and Photography, Bengaluru, has to offer. The works shall be selected based upon their applicability in Art therapy and adapted into interactive exercises with the goal of having the user engage with their mental state in a fruitful and meaningful way.
This research is based on the Pilot Testing phase of the Toolkit titled : Art for Thought. The Pilot testing took place in Bengaluru, between the 17th to the 27th of May, 2022, in three predetermined locations namely; The State Central Library - Cubbon Park, Champaca Bookstore, and The Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) Bangalore City Campus. The testing at the IIHS Campus was conducted during a 3 day event titled : City Scripts. The Pilot version of the Toolkit has been developed in the form of a deck of cards, and features Fifteen works of art from MAP’s archive, each with a corresponding reflective exercise designed to help the user introspect. The research is based on 42 user interactions, each interaction spanning between 5 minutes to 3 hours approximately.
‘Art for Thought’ is part of a larger cultural programme surrounding mental health titled ‘Mindscapes’ supported by the Wellcome Trust, London, United Kingdom.
KEYWORDS
Mindscapes: “Mindscapes is an international cultural programme that aims to support a transformation in how we understand, address and talk about mental health. Mindscapes is initiated in Bengaluru, Berlin, New York, and Tokyo, and will culminate in 2023.”
Toolkit: The Toolkit, i.e. “Art For Thought”, is a set of creative exercises that combine Visual Art Pieces from the MAP Collection followed by a prompt, with the aim of mobilising users to introspect and engage with their mental state.
MAP: The Museum of Art and Photography, Bengaluru.
Quicksand: “Quicksand Design Studio is a Research and Design Consultancy based in New Delhi, Bangalore and Goa.”
Wellcome Trust: “The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom.”
