Sensory Friendly Morning | Tuesday 3 December 2024

10am - 12pm

Fuzzy crochet figurine standing on volcanic rock and blue feathers against a pale pink background.
Guadalupe Maravilla, 'Mochila immigrante IX' [detail], 2023. Courtesy of Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh. Photo: Sally Jubb

Admission

Free
Book Event

We welcome children and adults with sensory needs to enjoy the galleries with adjusted lighting and sounds within the exhibition.

Talbot Rice Gallery
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To accommodate members of the public who can find contemporary art gallery visits sensorily overwhelming, Talbot Rice Gallery is hosting a sensory-friendly morning on Tuesday 3 December 2024 from 10am - 12pm.

 

These sessions are designed to prioritise the sensory needs of autistic people, other neurodivergent people, those with additional sensory support needs, or anyone else who may prefer a more relaxed experience of the gallery.

People are welcome to attend with their families, friends, and carers.

We recognise that stimming assists people in coping with overwhelming experiences and we welcome visitors to stim in our space.

People are welcome to rock, pace, and vocally express themselves around the gallery. We welcome people to bring and use their own stimming/fidget objects, and where available, to borrow ours.

Please be aware that other visitors might be stimming around the gallery. If these behaviours are difficult to experience for you or the person you are accompanying, our staff can direct you to another part of the gallery.

 

Additional resources to make your experience more comfortable:

  • Free sensory kits available at reception. Each kit includes a stress ball, a pair of ear defenders, a traffic light fan, a soft toy with marble inside, a fidget toy, a magnifying glass torch, an eye mask, a dot-to-dot activity book and an emotion fan.
  • visual storyboard available to download here to anticipate your travels to the gallery and your experience during the exhibition.
  • sensory map of the gallery available to download here, designed to highlight elements of the space which may impact your sensory experience of the gallery.
  • Stimming objects available to borrow through the gallery, to be returned where possible.
  • Our staff and volunteers will be available for support if required.

 

We are dedicated to improving the experience for neurodivergent people experience in our galleries.

 

This is the first time we are delivering many of these services and we welcome your feedback to help us improve access to neurodivergent audiences.

 

You can provide feedback directly to any member of staff during your visit, or get in touch with us via email us 
info.talbotrice@ed.ac.uk or call us on 0131 650 2210