Making Sense CIC

making sense cic

Experience arts and heritage with all of your senses

Working in partnership with museums and galleries to make what they offer more accessible to wider audiences through a multi sensory approach.

Dwylo Bach Little Hands

Dwylo Bach Sessions coming up

Book yourself and your baby or toddler onto a Dwylo Bach

In Conwy https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chwarae-a-darganfod-play-and-discover-registration-338022814337

At Ruthin Craft Centre https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/little-hands-autumn-2022-dwylo-bach-hydref-2022-registration-425143193737

In Ty Pawb in Wrexham https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dwylo-bach-little-hands-tickets-439680776037

About

Dwylo Bach/ Little HandsA creative and engaging programme of activities for early years children

Dwylo Bach/ Little Hands are sensory exploration workshops for babies and toddlers, developed to link to specific exhibitions with “invitations to play” they have been successfully developed in partnership with Ruthin Craft Centre over the last 3 years and we are now wanting to expand and deliver this model to other cultural venues situated in North Wales. Providing an opportunity for families with young children to access and engage with high quality arts in cultural venues within their locality. We also want this programme to reach young families living in rural areas, widening our reach and offering educational and creative activities to areas who don’t have a cultural institution on their door step and would perhaps not engage in these activities due to where they live. In order not to exclude rural communities we will also deliver as an outreach programme, where a number of our Dwylo Bach sessions will take place in their local community centres, ‘bringing high quality arts to them’ – with the aim of reducing social isolation and enhancing wellbeing through the creative arts. 

Our Dwylo Bach/ Little Hands sessions are jam-packed with joyful learning and designed for little artists to explore their inner creativity, be curious and MAKE! Creating environments and activities inspired by our creative partners exhibition programmes, which are sensory and playful for all the family to enjoy. 

The programme focuses on early years engagement, learning and responses to contemporary art and craft within a creative and inspiring setting (art galleries); creating a sense of belonging for children and their families in cultural institutions and within the wider community.  We are keen for young families to develop confidence in our North Wales cultural venues, as a safe and engaging space for young children to feel inspired, explore and discover the ARTS.

Making Sense CIC during COVID 19 Lockdown

Making Sense projects had come to a complete standstill as we work with vulnerable people and in schools, care homes and resource centres so all projects have been on hold.

But here’s how we are now reaching out to the people we work with and doing our best to help them during this difficult time!

Making Sense is creating “Creative Reminiscence Packs” for Denbighshire care homes

Making Sense  provided simple workshop plans and materials, challenges, ideas, starting points for creative reminiscence for care home residents providing a link with the world beyond the care home and valuable ways for families to engage with loved ones through shared object reminiscence, sound, song, smell and touch. Providing digital session plans and resources, postcards as well as regular parcels with materials and activities to share.

This project is funded thanks to DVSC Voluntary Services Emergency Fund and Denbighshire Leisure Ltd

If you are a Denbighshire Care Home and would like to receive monthly packs contact tickylowe@makingsensecic.org.uk

MakingSense@Home

Sensory Object Box 
We are now providing artist made sensory parcels for people with Profound and Multiple learning disabilities in partnership with the resource centres they would usually attend from July until December.

Activities will be designed for family or carers to do together as one to one activities to promote sensory communication and creativity.

All activities will be available online to download from this website and via partner sites and social media partners.

Creative activities have links to the online offers of cultural venues in North Wales.

Go to MakingSense@Home page to see the sensory resources online which so far include 

“Indoor Seaside Experience” – with an interactive soundscape designed and built by Ant Dickinson

Wind catching mobile kit created exclusively by paper construction and embroiderer Donna Jones

Water – Music – Paint activity  – expressive painting to music with an interactive  soundscape by ant Dickinson

Coming soon  – Sensory and tactile Weaving with Honor Pedican

Music Making with Musician and music therapist Rosie Angell

Sensory discovery with artist and Art Therapist Sian Hutchinson (photo above by Sian Hutchinson)

A box of props and prompts to inspire movement and dance in collaboration with Claire Tranmer from New Dance

A box full of Light and playful ideas from Ben Davis and Jude Wood

And a Christmas Story and a box full of Christmas Cheer brought to you by Theatr Clwyd- with some more exciting partnerships with artists and venues in the pipeline!

All boxes will be available to buy via the website  – if you are interested please get in touch tickylowe@makingsensecic.org.uk

Making Sense Community Interest Company was set up by Creative Director Ticky Lowe in 2013

Making Sense’s is passionate about providing opportunities for people to experience arts and heritage in a multi sensory way.

This approach is great for people with learning disabilities but it is also great for small children and families and people who don’t like reading and older people with dementia in fact it seems that we can all get something out of experiencing things with our senses.

Ticky works with other creative people to make projects happen – long term collaborators include Ross Dalziel, Ant Dickinson, Naomi Kendrick, Dr Kate Allen and “Sensory Objects” Honor Pedican, John Merrill, Paul McCann and Leila Romaya, Craig Yamey

Creative Partnerships

Times are hard for museums and galleries at the moment – Making Sense CIC is looking to form partnerships with venues and with communities to create temporary exhibitions, interpretation or handling resources in order to reach wider audiences or engage more people through hands on creative experiences.

As a CIC Making Sense can work with you to develop a project, apply for funding and run projects that will engage with wider audiences.

Training

Making Sense CIC can provide tailor made training for staff and volunteers.

Consultation

Access consultation and way finding reviews are also available through Making Sense working with partners such as Mencap Liverpool.

contact Ticky tickylowe@makingsensecic.org.uk for more information

 Some of the projects that Making Sense CIC has initiated or been commissioned to run

2013

Natural Numbers Using the natural environment and resources at The National Wildflower Centre to develop self led learning activities. Including Spiral Lounge a pop up learning zone

and the creation of Bluebell Hunt – a sensory-outdoor-numeracy-learning activity for early years and people with learning disabilities.

2014/15

Who went to Pentredwr ?

We Rescued and celebrated local Heritage alongside a rural community in North Wales with interactive desks and a pop up Victorian School.

2015

Ticket to Ride A pop up immersive “travel pod” at Museum of Liverpool so that everyone can experience travel from the perspective of someone with a disability.

Time to Remember Three object handling boxes to help care staff and people living with dementia and their families get the most out of a visit to Llandudno Hospital.

Commissioned by Conwy museums and Archive Service and BCUHB ‘Creative Well’ Arts in Health and Wellbeing.

2016

Worked with “History of Place” to bring the story of The Royal School for the Blind to life for its profoundly disabled pupils.

2017

Immersive Spaces

Thanks to funding from ICF we have just completed a very successful pilot project at MOSTYN in Llandudno working with young people and adults with profound disabilities and autism to provide a sensory, stimulating and creative experience. Engaging with arts and culture.

A report s available on request  – if you are interested in being involved in Immersive Spaces in future as a venue, an artist a parent/carer, organisation or as a participant then please contact me by e mail.

tickylowe@makingsensecic.org.uk

Floral Deconstruction

An on going project to create a “handling archive” of wildflower parts for education and exhibition – Floral Deconstruction is an on going project  – new flowers being added annually –  Ernest Cook Trust funded a Creative Laboratory  – residency at Ruthin Craft Centre and World Museum Liverpool in June and July this year – more information on the projects page.

Thank you ECT! 

 

More about Making Sense CIC

Making Sense is a community interest company that works
with museums, galleries and other public spaces to run creative projects that make exhibitions and collections accessible to wider and more diverse audiences.
This can be by providing workshops, co-running events, making new interpretation and resources for outreach, and providing training for staff.
Making Sense CIC has a multi sensory approach to all projects, working to benefit people that may not other wise access museums and galleries and other cultural venues due to disability or social isolation.
Creative Director Ticky Lowe is an artist and creative project manager.
Before setting up Making Sense as a Community Interest Company in 2013 she ran a project called Access to Heritage for Mencap Liverpool where she worked along side a forum of people with learning disabilities and with Liverpool’s heritage venues as access consultants and coordinating the making of multi sensory interpretation that showcased accessible design.
Ticky has researched and developed handling collections as a way for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities to engage, communicate and learn. Making Sense does not work exclusively with people with disabilities but its multi sensory approach means that everyone will be able to engage with and enjoy our work.

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