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Still Parents

Life after Baby Loss
24 September 2021 – 4 December 2022

Still Parents
Life after Baby Loss

Still Parents is the first exhibition of its kind, creating a platform to share personal stories open conversations and break the wall of silence that continues to surround baby loss.

The exhibition has evolved from the work the Whitworth’s award-winning Still Parents project, which supports parents who have experienced the loss of a baby during pregnancy or just after birth.

Discover more about the project in the Still Parents film via YouTube (link below) – and the information below.


This is a constituent-led exhibition, where every aspect from curation to interpretation has been informed by our project participants. Throughout two exhibition galleries, you'll find a combination of artworks and objects, created, chosen from the gallery's collection, or loaned by our participants. And, it is their personal stories and responses, written in their own words, that are shared with you.

Launched in October 2019 in partnership with Sands (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity), the Still Parents project is a continuing series of informal monthly workshops. Under the guidance of professional artists, the programme encourages participants to collectively explore their experiences through creativity. Making and doing are at the heart of these sessions as participants are introduced to new techniques and skills whilst surrounded by people who understand.

The Whitworth’s proximity to Tommy’s Stillbirth Research Centre and Manchester’s largest maternity centre means the project is well placed to reach out to those experiencing baby loss. Its impact extends beyond the programme and has set in motion ‘ripples’ that support wider family and friends as well as the NHS and bereavement services.

As a Constituent Museum, the Whitworth aims to transform the way that art is experienced and used, by using art as a tool to open conversation, generate empathy and actively address what matters most in people’s lives - here and now.

The Whitworth is incredibly grateful to both Manchester Sands and the Friends of the Whitworth for generously supporting the Still Parents programme and exhibition. 

Visit the Sands services web page for further details about Sands: How we offer support.

Memory Wall

The Still Parents Memory Wall is now full.

Over the last 12 months we have been adding names and now have almost 300 babies on the wall with no more space available. The dates for this exhibition have been extended and Still Parents will now be on display at the Whitworth until 4 December 2022.

If you would like to keep up to date with the Still Parents programme then please follow @whitworthstillparents on Instagram or for more information you can email lucy.turner@manchester.ac.uk.

Since its opening last year the exhibition has been used as a resource in many baby loss-related documentaries and TV programmes, helping raise awareness around the subject.

You can see Still Parents featured on BBC Inside Museums here: BBC iPlayer - Inside Museums - Series 2: 2. Manchester’s Whitworth

You can watch Still Parents featured in the documentary Miscarriage: The Search for Answers by Tulip Mazumdar, BBC Global Health Correspondent here: BBC iPlayer - Miscarriage: The Search for Answers

You can also watch a feature on Still Parents with Kim Marsh on BBC Morning Live here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00190w4/morning-live-series-4-05072022#08m46s

Follow Whitworth Still Parents on Instagram @WhitworthStillParents

#WhitworthStillParents
#StillParents

24 September 2021 – 4 December 2022


More information to explore:

The Still Parents project is the Whitworth’s award-winning programme to support parents who have experienced the loss of a baby in pregnancy or just after birth.

Still Care is a new strand of work that compliments the multi-award-winning Still Parents programme. Still Care workshops will begin in February 2024.

Read about the Awards and Media Coverage gained as part of the Still Parents project.

Sands (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity)

Manchester Sands

Still Parents is kindly supported by the Friends of the Whitworth

Image: Photograph courtesy of Lisa Porch