Written by Emma Kelsey, Heritage Doncaster
Gallery Gather is a friendly and inclusive social club for adults in Doncaster and delivers a wide range of creative health activities using arts, culture and heritage to support emotional wellbeing, social connection and lifelong learning for people with learning disabilities.
Gallery Gather is based in the gallery at Danum, here participants are able engage with the space freely, exploring artworks as they choose and develop their own creativity. The open access nature of being based in the gallery also helps foster a sense of ownership and belonging over the space.
Every session is designed to be immersive, accessible and joyful. Whether we’re writing with quills in a medieval-themed workshop inspired by historic charters and local legends or exploring exhibitions such as’ Mapping Change: 400 Years of Maps in Doncaster’ – where participants created their own maps of Doncaster – pinpointing places they visit and the journeys they make. The aim of Gallery Gather is about creating meaningful engagement.
Our recent project, Gallery Gather Presents invited participants to explore paintings from the Danum art collection in new ways – beyond viewing. Participants chose three paintings out of the collection they felt best represented Doncaster. The selection wasn’t just about visual appeal – it was about sensory richness. Participants imagined the sounds, movement and atmosphere within each artwork and recorded these sounds using talking tiles. From cats purring to train engines powering up, these sounds brought the paintings to life in a way that was immersive.
We also welcomed local poet Michele Beck, who led a creative writing workshop where participants responded to each painting with poetry and storytelling. These sensory responses (including audio, poetry and painting) culminated in an exhibition where we brought it all together along with the original artwork that inspired this project. It’s great to be able to showcase what has been created at Gallery Gather as well as create an interactive exhibit for visitors to enjoy.
Gallery Gather continues to grow, and in one of our recent sessions we had a record 18 adults attend plus support staff. The energy in the room was incredible, and one participant’s comment, ‘We must have more’ motivates us to continue developing accessible activities for the future.
Gallery Gather will return in January 2026, if you would like to know more about this social club and the work we are doing please email yourmemories@doncaster.gov.uk
