Category Archives: Slow Art Day Notifications

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First Official Slow Art Day in Bordeaux

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On April 13th, Simone Raskin, art consultant and trainer at the Gallery L’Art de Regarder, organized the first official Slow Art Day in Bordeaux, sponsored by the Mairie de Bordeaux (the Bordeaux Town Hall) and hosted at the Espace Saint Rémi.

The Espace Saint Rémi was a church before the French Revolution and has over the centuries transformed into what is now a cultural center for exhibitions. Since 1991, the space has hosted a yearly photography exhibition titled Itinéraires des Photographes Voyageurs, which was created and organized by Nathalie Lamire-Fabre and Vincent Bengold as part of the first Mois de la Photo de Bordeaux (month of photography in Bordeaux).

The slow looking focused on the following 6 works from the photography exhibition:

  • Patrick Cockpit, “Pasaran, une dystopie franquiste” 
  • Lise Dua, “Les loyautés & Une vie”
  • Charlotte Auricombe, “Cau Del Llop” 
  • Benoît Capponi, “Toutes les heures blessent”
  • Sladjana Stankovic, “La Douce“
  • Thierry Girard, “The Tenjin Omuta Line” 
Photo credit: Simone Raskin

The Slow Art Day event was not promoted separately, so Simone greeted the 250+ visitors with an explanation of slow looking, and invited participants to sit in chairs that were arranged in front of the works. She provided them with the following prompts to guide their experience:

  • What’s going on in this picture?
  • What is it that attracts you in this particular photography?
  • What is the mood of the photo?
  • What are the colors? What do they evoke to you?
  • What is the composition of this photo?
  • If you were to say one word about this photo, what would it be?
  • Does it remind you of a painting, a souvenir, a memory, a personal experience?

Below are some of the works in the event:

“Pasaran, une dystopie franquiste” by Patrick Cockpit

“Les loyautés & Une vie” by Lise Dua

“Cau Del Llop” by Charlotte Auricombe

“La Douce“by Sladjana Stankovic

“The Tenjin Omuta Line” by Thierry Girard

Simone reported that many of the participants thanked her for the event, and they were quite appreciative for the prompts that she provided. Several mentioned that they would try slow looking at future museum visits.

At Slow Art Day HQ we are so glad to hear that the event was so well-received and look forward to whatever Simone Raskin, Mairie de Bordeaux, or Espace Saint Rémi plan for Slow Art Day 2025!

– Jessica Jane, Johanna, Ashley, and Phyl

Japanese Fairytale Reading at Coral Gables

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For their first Slow Art Day the Coral Gables Museum in Florida featured the reading of a Japanese fairy tale, and an exhibit with Japanese-style art by the artist known as The Talented Mr. Martin. The South Florida Charter Ensemble, a non-profit dedicated to improving lives through music, was a co-sponsor of this Slow Art Day, and took the lead in promoting and organizing the session (flyer below).

Flyer created for the Coral Gables Museum event, sponsored by SFCE Music

The session began with the Japanese Fairy Tale “Issun-bōshi”. The story revolves around a boy born to elderly parents, who had wanted a child for a long time. Despite Issun-bōshi only being one-inch tall, and never growing taller, he distinguishes himself through his courage and strong-will. In the story, he journeyes to far-off lands to find his place in the world, carrying a samurai sword made from a sewing needle, with a boat constructed from a rice bowl and rudder made from chopsticks. Below is a japanese drawing of Issun-bōshi, as he travels in his small boat.

Issun-bōshi going down the river in a bowl from “Buddha’s crystal and other fairy stories” (1908). Public Domain.

The day’s event then transitioned into a slow looking session focused on Japanese art.

Here are some photos they sent to us from the day, featuring samurai armor constructed by The Talented Mr. Martin. The armor connects to the theme of bravery in the context of Japanese culture, which the children also encountered in the story of Issun-bōshi.

We are glad to have the Coral Gables Museum and the South Florida Charter Ensemble join the slow looking movement. Reading a known fairytale that connects to the theme is a great idea to for a Slow Art Day event for children, and we hope that more museums might be inspired by this.

We look forward to what the Coral Gables Museum creates for Slow Art Day 2024.

– Johanna, Ashley, Phyl and Jessica Jane

Slow Art Day in an 18th century building: Casa Regis

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For their first Slow Art Day, Casa Regis, a non-profit association and centre for culture and contemporary art in Valdilana, Italy, featured local artists in a video and social-media-based event.

Casa Regis’ Facebook post of the event.
In the picture, Achill(a)/Frame, sculpture by Daniele Basso.

On April 10, 2021, art photographer and founder of Casa Regis, Mikelle Standbridge, uploaded a series of short videos of different artistic installations on the organization’s Instagram page.

The videos featured a soundscape of birds chirping, as Mikelle briefly introduces works by local artists Sissi Castellano, Daniele Basso, Carla Crosio, Michela Cavagna and herself. Note: the artists were selected and chosen in part because of the interesting juxtaposition of their work against the backdrop of the eighteenth-century building in which Casa Regis is located.

Below you can find pictures of the featured installations, links to the videos, and a brief description of each.

Screenshot from the short video of
Sissi Castellano’s installation I AM NOT AN ARTIST

Sissi Castellano‘s silkworm cocoon installation entitled‘ ‘I AM NOT AN ARTIST‘, is based on the Japanese Mingei philosophy of objects, which the artist follows. The Mingei approach simulatenaously focuses on the function and aesthetic value of common household objects.

You can view the installation and the above video here.

Daniele Basso. Hawk. Steel and white bronze sculpure. Picture taken from Casa Regis’ IG page.

Sculptor and artist Daniele Basso‘s ‘Hawk’, which comes from a series called Frames, is a stainless steel and white bronze sculpture. The artist plays with effects of mirroring, showing the complexity and the different levels of reality.

You can find a brief explanation and watch above video here.

Carla Crosio. Cancer. Picture taken from Casa Regis’ IG page.

Artist Carla Crosio‘s installation, entitled Cancer, is made of of marble, bronze and glass and it takes inspiration from her personal life.

View the above video here.

Michela Cavagna. Birth. Picture taken from Casa Regis’ IG page.

Fiber Artist Michela Cavagna‘s installation entitled ‘Birth’, is inspired by the Russian tale of Vassilissa.

You can view the video of the installation with a brief explanation here.

Screenshot from the short video of
Mikelle Standbridge’s installation Public Domain.

Mikelle Standbridge also included one of her works of art named ‘Public Domain’. This art work can be seen as a bridge between art and science.

View Part 1 and Part 2 of that video.

At Slow Art Day HQ, we love the use of video for creating slow looking environments. We recommend that our museum educator and curator friends around the world watch some of the short videos that Mikelle created.

We are also happy to report that their inaugural event was so successful that they then planned in-person Slow Art day events for the rest of 2021. Excellent!

We look forward to whatever Casa Regis comes up with for Slow Art Day 2022.

Jessica, Johanna, Ashley, and Phyl

PS: A press release of the event is available in Italian here.