For their first Slow Art Day, the Holland Museum in Holland, Michigan, organized an in-person event inviting participants to engage with their Dutch art collection.
Participants were divided in four small groups and were encouraged to look at the selected paintings for five minutes each, then to share their thoughts with a friend or another participant from the event. Education & Community Programs Manager Michelle Stempien provided them with a short brochure with images from the Dutch art collection.
The brochure contained different open-ended questions and prompts for each painting, to encourage more in-depth looking:
Prompts for “Elegant Company Making Music” by Jacob Duck :
- What do you think the woman on the left is thinking about?
- Why is she looking at us?
- How does the artist show us her importance?
- What seems unusual about this scene?
Other prompts included the comparison between these two paintings:
Janntje Berckel, 1617, Pieter Jacobsz
(1608-1677), oil on panel
A docent was also available to discuss the paintings. Participants were playfully encouraged to copy some of the poses in paintings, and post photos of their poses to social media.
We encourage educators and curators to consider copying their joyful slow looking design — including their brochure.
And we at Slow Art Day HQ are happy to welcome the Holland Museum to Slow Art Day, and look forward to what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2023.
Jessica Jane, Johanna, Ashley, and Phyl