Interactive exhibition readied by Leap Then Look for October

Leap Then Look’s work is underpinned by the philosophy that contemporary art practice should and can be made available to everyone and that people of all ages can benefit from playful ways of making, thinking, and looking.

Play Interact Explore at Baltic brings together many of the ideas and approaches Leap Then Look have explored in recent years, through a process of collaborative workshops in community settings with children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and mental health challenges, bringing materials together to play and reflect. The resulting exhibition is a welcoming, exciting and accessible environment for many people for whom art galleries are not a place they necessarily feel at home in.

The exhibition builds on the learning and relationships developed at Baltic during the Project Art Works Residential exhibition (September 2023 – February 2024) that embodied the visible traces of people often hidden from the world. Following awareness-raising and relationship building in the North East of England, the project included a programme of collaborative events for local people, families and caregivers. 

To be enjoyed by everyone, every part of Play Interact Explore can be touched, picked up, rearranged and combined – a welcoming environment full of possibilities. Featuring large, tactile sculptural objects and colourful assemblages, everything in the space is interactive. Lively, exciting, and curiosity-filled, the exhibition is designed to support and encourage taking part in different ways to create sculptures, take photographs, move things around, rock, roll, stack, and play.