The Paper Apothecary in The Front Room

Saturday 9 February to Sunday 24 February 2013

The Paper Apothecary was a life size apothecary created entirely out of re cycled paper and card by Animate Arts Company.

Animate Arts worked with over 200 people from local schools, community groups and Beaney staff. The ‘Happiness Investigators’ explored the Beaney, its collections, library and the building in order to answer one very important question..

“What makes you happy at The Beaney?”

These findings were used to create ‘cultural treatments’ that were especially designed to make you feel happier! These cultural treatments were prescribed to gallery visitors by our resident ‘Chemist' for the duration of the exhibition.

What visitors said:

'We really enjoyed our visit to the Apothecary and felt much better. Thank you. Ps the cakes were good too.'
'We felt great! It was a fabulous task for our family and we had lots of fun. Thank you.'
'I feel very happy. A wonderful experience which I will always remember and treasure. Many thanks.'
'It made me smile and I had a little chuckle.'

The Happy Museums Project

The Happy Museums Project is a national initiative, funded by Arts Council and The Paul Hamlyn Foundation. The Happy Museum Project is seeking to create a community of practice in UK museums committed to supporting wellbeing and a sustainable society.
The Beaney along with 11 other national museums, including the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and The Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, have been commissioned to test out these ideas. You can find out about these other national projects by visiting The Happy Museum Project website.