The annual event celebrating art.
Slow Art Day is Saturday, April 5, 2025 Join Us!
Photo by Greg Neville
The National Gallery of Canada Hosts Second Slow Art Day
January 15th, 2025On April 13th, Andrea Gumpert, Gallery Educator, and Marie-Pierre Adam, Interpreter-Guide, hosted the National Gallery of Canada’s second Slow Art Day, and reported that it was a resounding success.
The Gallery provided three options for participation this year:
– an in-person guided group experience
– slow-looking “on your own” with provided handout (shown below)
– slow-looking from home using a guided video
And participants were given the option to participate in either French-language or English-language sessions.
For the in-person guided event, hosts Andrea Gumpert and Marie-Pierre Adam greeted participants next to the below Slow Art Day signage in their Great Hall.
The in-person event was divided in two parts (that each of the French and English speaking groups followed).
For Part 1, Andrea led the 13 participants in the English-speaking group to the Indigenous and Canadian later galleries, and Marie-Pierre led the 11 French-speaking participants to the European baroque galleries. They each then invited their participants to select one artwork and spend 10 minutes looking slowly at it. After the 10 minutes, they regrouped and discussed the experience.
Across the two groups, participants commented on how much more they noticed about the art when they gave themselves permission to really spend time with it – a seemingly obvious but nonetheless revelatory experience. Participants also said the group setting was helpful, particularly for the younger attendees (11 and 14 years old.) People also told stories about the works, and contemplated the technical skills behind the art.
For Part II, the English-speaking group moved to the Contemporary galleries while the French-speaking group moved to the later modern galleries. This time Andrea and Marie-Pierre suggested three optional challenges:
1. Spend 15 minutes with one artwork
2. Select a work that you didn’t have an immediate affinity for
3. Draw or write while spending time with the work
They then had a second discussion with each group.
The French-speaking group in the modern gallery appreciated the chance to express themselves on paper; either by drawing or writing their ideas. Some participants expressed that the second round of slow looking was easier – that slow looking felt like a muscle that needs to be warmed up first. One participant who chose a work they would not have normally looked at shared that their slow looking revealed parts of the painting they thought were wonderful after all – and raised many questions around the choices made by the artist at that time in their career.
At the end of the day, participants provided feedback.
Here are two quotes, one from the English-speaking group and one from the French-speaking group (i.e., these are not translations from one to the other – but separate quotes):
The slow art English session was a welcome new approach for me to viewing art. Our guide was
informed and fun, and she explained the process well. I am sure I will use this approach on my own
sometimes at art galleries, and elsewhere. Thank you for offering it — it is a good middle place
between a tour with a guide and a hands-on activity.
Bonjour à toute l’équipe, je profite de ce courriel pour vous remercier pour l’organisation de
l’activité Slow Art de samedi dernier. J’ai une la chance de participer à cet événement en présence
de Marie-Pierre et du groupe pour les personnes francophones. J’ai fait plusieurs apprentissages
dans un environnement paisible et vraiment intéressant ! Merci pour votre dévouement à rendre
l’art accessible et respectueux ! Je vous en suis très reconnaissante ! Je souhaite une longue vie
au Musée des Beaux-Arts du Canada !
We are glad to say that The Gallery is now planning regular slow looking sessions throughout the year (we love that!) as well as participating in Slow Art Day 2025.
– Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl
Objects Talk Back at The Gardiner Museum
January 7th, 2025For their fifth Slow Art Day, The Gardiner Museum in Toronto, Canada, invited the public to a mindful exploration of the exhibition Magdalene Odundo: A Dialogue with Objects between 11am – 1pm.
On Slow Art Day, participants were provided with guided activity sheets (see below) designed to facilitate slow looking. The handout prompted participants to think of how the objects were “talking” to them.
Participants were also encouraged to discuss their experiences either with each other, or with Sofia Flores-Ledesma, Education and Program Coordinator, who was available throughout the event.
Below you can see the activity sheet (and feel free to copy any of what they have done there). The downloadable file also includes a few examples of how participants used the sheet to draw and comment.
The exhibition was the first and largest collection of Dame Magdalene Odundo’s works presented in North America, showcasing decades of her art. Magdalene Odundo (born 1950) first trained as a graphic artist in her home country of Kenya before moving to the United Kingdom to take a foundation course at the Cambridge School of Art. In 1976, Odundo graduated in Ceramics, Photography and Printmaking from the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, UK. For more information about Obundo’s work and life, we invite you to look at The Gardiner Museum’s exhibition page.
The Gardiner Museum always hosts beautiful Slow Art Day events, and we look forward to whatever they come up with for Slow Art Day 2025.
– Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl
P.S. Stay up to date with events at The Gardiner Museum through their Instagram, X (Twitter), or Facebook.
Meditation at Moderna Museet in Malmö
January 4th, 2025For their second Slow Art Day, Moderna Museet in Malmö, Sweden, invited participants to a meditation session within the exhibition “Monica Sjöö – The Great Cosmic Mother.”
On April 13, 2024, Ana María Bermeo, a certified meditation teacher, artist and museologist, prepared the gallery with floor-cushions and chairs, and the limited spaces quickly filled up with enthusiastic slow lookers.
Bermeo aimed to help participants feel more present in the moment – with the art and themselves – and free themselves from the demands of immediacy. No prior knowledge of slow looking or meditation was needed. She emphasized that slowing down with the art was a way to “get in touch with your inner world,” for which the exhibition of Sjöö’s art was well suited.
For readers not familiar with Sjöö’s work, below is an excerpt from the Exhibition Website (Monica Sjöö: The Great Cosmic Mother):
Monica Sjöö (1938-2005) was an influential feminist artist whose work is part of the alternative spirituality that emerged during the 1970s in opposition to the patriarchy, traditions, and institutional religion. Many of her paintings refer to British ancient cult sites, such as Avebury, and areas that Monica Sjöö made spiritual pilgrimages to and became inspired by.
Monica Sjöö linked many of her ideas to The Great Mother, a figure that is found in many cultures throughout history. For Sjöö, the essence of The Great Mother was present in all phases of life, as an experience that imbues both nature and being. She saw the oppression inflicted on women and minorities, and the exploitation of green areas and the ravaging of nature, as violence against The Great Mother. In this way, her commitment to the women’s movement, environmentalism and her spiritual convictions were related.
At Slow Art Day HQ, we are inspired by the ways in which Sjöö’s background and art highlight important issues, including the socio-cultural position of women, environmental concerns, and spirituality (with and without organized religion).
We can’t wait to see what Moderna Museet in Malmö comes up with for their third Slow Art Day in 2025.
-Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl
P.S. And given that one of us is Swedish (Johanna) it’s always wonderful to see how much Sweden’s art world has embraced Slow Art Day.
Mindfulness at the TarraWarra Museum of Art
December 15th, 2024For their 4th Slow Art Day, the TarraWarra Museum of Art in Healesville, Australia, organized an interactive mindful workshop where visitors could enjoy the art of relaxation while observing and appreciating art.
The museum’s Learning & Engagement team guided a small group of participants through a 1.5 hour interactive workshop that was comprised of mindful techniques such as automatic journaling, body awareness, breathing and visualizations. The goal was to deepen their connection with their lived experiences and with their relationship with the art on display.
We are happy to see that mindfulness and meditation continue to be a growing part of the global slow looking toolkit.
And given that we are big fans of TarraWarra here at Slow Art Day HQ, we are eager to see what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2025.
P.S. Stay up to date with events at TarraWarra Museum through Instagram and Facebook
– Jessica Jane, Johanna, Ashley, and Phyl