Tag Archives: Miriam Machado

Frost Celebrates Its 10th Slow Art Day

Posted on by

It’s going to be another great Slow Art Day this April 15, 2023. More museums continue to register including our first in South Korea.

And I’m proud to share that the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate and one of the largest academic art museums in South Florida, is celebrating its 10th Slow Art Day this year, which, in addition to being great for the slow looking movement, holds a special resonance for the museum and its staff.

The Frost’s first Slow Art Day was planned by then-docent and longtime museum supporter, Helena Venero. She was dedicated to art education and provided great support to Miriam Machado, who was (and remains) the Director of Education. In fact, Venero helped Machado launch their first docent program.

In 2013, Venero led the planning of their inaugural Slow Art Day. Venero did a great job and everything was set, and then in the early morning of April 27, 2013 (i.e., the morning of that year’s Slow Art Day) Machado received a terrible phone call. Venero had just suffered a massive heart attack and passed away.

As you can imagine, the whole museum was in shock and deeply saddened.

In commemoration of Helena Venero’s commitment to the museum, her family created an endowment to fund Slow Art Day (and other educational programs) in perpetuity. The Venero Endowment has allowed the museum to host interesting Slow Art Day events for ten straight years (and for many more years to come), as well as to amplify their ability to reach underserved students with a variety of programs.

Machado remains connected to the Venero family, and keeps them updated on the projects and programs their endowment supports. “I will be eternally grateful to Helena, to her family, and to their passion for education and the arts,” Machado said.

Let’s all thank Helena Venero – and the Venero family – and the many other volunteers around the world who have helped turn Slow Art Day into a global phenomenon.

Hope you have a GOOD and Slow Art Day 2023.

Best,

Phyl

P.S. If you need any of the host tools – logo for use in your print or digital efforts, and all of the past reports with their many tools, tips, and inspiring approaches – then go to the host tools section of our Slow Art Day website.

Art and Wellness: Zoom Webinar with the Frost Art Museum

Posted on by

For their 8th Slow Art Day, The Patricia & Philip Frost Art Museum in Miami, FL, hosted a live webinar conversation focused on art and wellness with artist Carol Brown Goldberg, facilitated by Miriam Machado, Curator of Education at the Frost Art Museum (click on the image below to watch the webinar).

Slow Art Day Webinar: ‘A conversation with artist Carol Brown Goldberg on her series Tangled Nature and her exhibition at the Frost’. Screenshot: Johanna

The conversation between Machado and Brown Goldberg was themed around “the meditative power of creating art through line and color”. Among other things, Brown Goldberg said that entangled lines can be seen as a metaphor for understanding our own lives. She illustrated her comments by using two of her artworks as examples: Extravagant Eden 8 (2015) and Maggie on My Mind (2015).

Carol Brown Goldberg, Extravagant Eden 8 (2015), Pen and Ink on Paper, 11 x 18 inches.
Carol Brown Goldberg, Maggie on My Mind (2015), Acrylic on Canvas, 79 x 58 inches

Viewers shared their own reflections and questions with Machado and posted comments on Florida International University’s (FIU) social media pages. When they were asked if the webinar was helpful in thinking about art and wellness, an impressive 96.15% responded “yes”.

Brown Goldberg said that many might come out of the current Covid19 lockdown with a renewed appreciation of the power of slow looking with art, including how it can impact overall health and wellness.

Though 18% of participants were from the FIU community (including professors, staff, and students), most were from out-of-state and even from a range of countries:

  • 39% from Florida
  • 37% from the Maryland/DC area (where the artist resides)
  • 21% from across the U.S. (CA, NJ, NY, MA, MN, VA)
  • 3% from outside the U.S. (Germany and the United Arab Emirates)

Further, an amazing 60% of the viewers had never visited the Frost Art Museum, which is a testament to how virtual webinars can bring new audiences to museums.

As Slow Art Day Blog Editor, I absolutely loved this webinar and the reflective dialogue between Machado and Brown Goldberg, and recommend it to anyone wishing to engage in a deeper reflection around art, wellness, science, color and lines.

All of us at Slow Art Day look forward to The Frost Art Museum’s 9th Slow Art Day in 2021.

– Johanna