Kluge-Ruhe collaborated with UVA’s Department of Art and Contemplative Sciences Center to create an outdoor art experience on its scenic hilltop location. Visitors to the sculpture trail followed a meandering path mown through the museum’s back meadow, encountering “sculpture stops” along the way. Sculpture professor Bill Bennett’s students have created 13 sculptures, each designed to highlight or react to their specific site. Students in professor Jayme Siet’s “Mindfulness and Nature” course composed prompts that visitors can access through a QR code on their phones. The prompts are both playful and reflective, designed to help visitors slow down, observe their surroundings and embrace moments of connection with nature.
An increasing number of scientific studies have proved what Indigenous people around the world have known for centuries: that nature is a restorative force. Time spent outdoors reduces blood pressure and stress hormone levels while enhancing the immune system. In fact, the effects of spending even brief periods of time outdoors are shown to have positive biological benefits for weeks afterward.
Breathe With Me invited visitors to extend their museum experience and expand their visit beyond the museum walls. It is an opportunity to be safely outdoors while contemplating how both art and nature can challenge, nourish and soothe us.
We are grateful to the following individuals who all contributed to this project:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are warned that this website contains the names and images of deceased people.
