Exhibition: Touch Grass
Thursday January 16th – Saturday February 15th 2025
Touch Grass is an exhibition of art and connection to nature by the Marbury Road Edible Garden (MREG) Community Group.
It’s a collection of art by novice artists with no arts training, who are all group leaders and volunteers at the MREG Community Group, a multi-generational group based in Heaton Chapel off Highfield Local Nature Reserve, and led by project manager Kell Degnen.
Touch Grass Idiom: to participate in normal activities in the real world especially as opposed to online experiences and interactions. In this case, to literally Touch Grass!
Touch Grass is a collection of art by novice artists with no arts training, who are all group leaders and volunteers at the MREG Community Group, a multi-generational group based in Heaton Chapel off Highfield Local Nature Reserve, and led by project manager Kell Degnen.
The pieces in the exhibition depict their connection to the local nature and environment and artwork created using natural materials from the garden. This is a passion-project for the group, showing that everyone can be an artist.
We can slow down and be free without worrying about the final product. Finding things that allow us some stillness, they found they are able to connect with the land, and themselves.
Kell was a participant in Arc’s arts for wellbeing programmes and set up the volunteering at the garden partly as a way to maintain good mental health.
“I tried to donate some fresh vegetables to our local food bank, which is within walking distance, but they couldn’t take it because I didn’t have a food processing certificate. I spoke to our neighbourhood officer at the time, Wayne Bardley, and asked if he thought there was anything we could do, like growing food in the park. Wayne really backed us on it, and said “Let’s just try it, and if it doesn’t work, we can take them out.”
“At MREG we’re trying to slow down. ‘Touch Grass’ is something that, when people are playing games online, on social media, if everyone’s getting a little bit too into it, you say, “Touch grass, yeah?” It means, “Get outside, take a little break. Just try and be a bit more connected [to the Earth] again.”
"Art is for everyone."
Kell stayed connected with Arc through participation in Stockport Arts & Health Weeks in 2023 & 2024, offering a glimpse into MREG’s work and how to get involved in the garden. They came along to showcase networking events for services for adult and young people, ran a drop-in printmaking session and led an impactful retreat at the garden where participants made temporary art with picked flowers and foliage.
Kell was keen that the group regularly create art, even when the participants have no formal arts experience or training. Much of MREG’s volunteer work revolves around taking care of the group’s personal wellbeing. They have art in the park sessions once a year, workshops led by watercolour and street artists.
“Every single one of us created something marvelous whilst being outside.”
MREG has a network of gardens, but would like to “grow” it! If you’re interested in supporting the garden in some way, get in touch with the team at contactmardarts@gmail.com.
You can connect with them online on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
If you’d like to find out more about how you can connect with art or nature, you can visit the exhibition at Hat Works on Thursdays and Fridays from 10:00-16:00 and Saturdays 11:00-15:00.
For our Saturday Art Club on January 25th we’ll be taking inspiration from the exhibition with creative activities including Collage Hedgehogs, Bird Designs and Broad Bean Pot Painting with real seeds from MREG!
#TouchGrass
Image Credits: MREG, Sam Etchells and Rebecca Lupton.
