For 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.