For 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.