Rest Lab Six

Rest Lab Six was an exhibition at Krannert Art Museum that incorporated artworks from the museum's collection. By activating spaces to prioritize care for our bodies and minds, the Rest Lab Six exhibition asked visitors to slow down and resist capitalistic values of productivity, urgency, and overexertion.

Through restful looking and engaging with rest tools, a reading nook, and a response wall, the Rest Lab Six exhibition invited visitors to rest in the ways that felt best to them. The exhibition included:
• Armchairs, benches, a couch, a bed, and various other furniture that invited visitors to view artwork in the way that is most comfortable to their body.
• Weighted blankets, fidget tools, weighted neck pillows, noise-cancelling headphones, and other tools to encourage various forms of resting.
• A response wall where visitors could share their own reflections on rest.
• A reading nook containing zines, books on the topic of rest, picture books, poetry books, and children’s books co-curated by Ricker Library of Architecture and Art.
• Artwork from Krannert Art Museum’s collection.
• A darkened space with video and soft white noise sounds for resting.

The exhibition featured Wendy Jacob’s, "Squeeze Chair," a large, blue, cushioned chair that uses a foot pump to inflate its large arms, which move inward and apply even pressure to create a hug or squeeze. Visitors were able to try out the Squeeze Chair with museum staff assistance at the exhibition reception on November 14 and at the closing program with CU Autism Network on December 14.