2023 Slow Art Day Annual Report – Get Inspired!

Posted on March 12, 2024 by Phyl Terry

We are proud to publish our 2023 Annual Report, representing hundreds of hours of work by volunteers to research, compile, and write-up the thousands of hours of creative work of educators and curators around the world.

More than 193 museums and galleries participated in 2023 (plus many more that ran Slow Art Day sessions but did not register with us).

And we researched, wrote, and published reports from 41 of these museums and galleries, which is what you will find in this report.

So, read this and get inspired by what a wide range of museums and galleries did last year including the Art Gallery of Ontario, Sweden’s Nationalmuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Europe’s largest museum complex), The Frederiksberg Museum in Copenhagen, the 15-site citywide Slow Art Day in Bloomington, Illinois, to name just a few.

And please join me in thanking the volunteer team who worked tirelessly all year long to produce this report: Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Johanna. This global team deserve much thanks (please comment or write to me so I can share with them your appreciation ;-).

Thanks!

Phyl

P.S. Read earlier annual reports including: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 (we only started producing these in 2019, nine years after the official launch of Slow Art Day).

Corridor Contemporary’s First Slow Art Day in Philadelphia, PA

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Ashley Moran

On April 15, Corridor Contemporary, located in the vibrant Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA, hosted their first Slow Art Day in conjunction with the debut of their exhibition Printed Perspectives.

The location in Philadelphia is a sister gallery to owner Erez Zemach’s main gallery in Tel Aviv, both of which exhibit emerging and established Israeli and international artists. They showcase a range of contemporary art from figurative and photorealism to fresh contributions of graffiti and the wider street art vibe.

They kept the design of their Slow Art Day event simple, and recommended that participants choose at least 3 artworks and view them slowly for 5 minutes (perhaps even using a timer). They prompted viewers to consider what other areas of their life might benefit from intentionally slowing down.

*Main gallery at Corridor Contemporary.*

*Participants slowly viewing a work in the main gallery.*

The gallery reported that they had quite a successful event with about 100 visitors attending throughout the day. I had the pleasure of being one of those participants, and was particularly drawn to the work of West Philadelphia artist King Saladeen in his solo exhibition: No Middle Cla$$. I found myself taking in his works for much longer than 5 minutes, and I wasn’t alone. They drew quite an audience.

Ashley Moran with work by King Saladeen.

Staircase gallery at Corridor Contemporary.

Corridor Contemporary has three floors of galleries, and I found the small, winding staircase to be a perfect intimate spot to look slowly at skateboards adorned with art by Keith Haring from The Skateroom.

At Slow Art Day HQ, we love to see the breadth of institutions that participate in Slow Art Day, from local galleries such as this to the larger museums. It proves that Slow Art is truly accessible to all. I am particularly delighted to have discovered Corridor Contemporary’s gallery in my own neighborhood, and can’t wait for their event in 2024.

– Ashley, with Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. – You can visit their social media here: Instagram | Facebook | X | Pinterest

First Turkish Slow Art Day at Ayzeradant Art Gallery

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Johanna Bokedal

Ayzeradant Gallery in the city of Izmir hosted Slow Art Day in April of 2023 bringing the slow art movement to Turkey for the first time.

Performance artist and medical doctor Pınar Derin Gençer, based in Istanbul and Stockholm, was invited to perform her work “Watching the Waves”.

Slow Art Day poster for the event. Shared to Instagram.

Derin works mainly on performance art, visual arts, installation, writing and objects. According to Performance Art Weekly, her art “studies the relationship between the physical, psychological, historical field of the life, of the nature, of the city and the human.”

Derin is the founder/creative director of Istanbul Performance Art, Stockholm Performance Art and 24 Hours Art, and chief curator of Open Performance Space.

In “Watching the Waves”, the viewer experiences ways of thinking about the times between self and world, sensitive knowledge, and the space between object and world.

After the performance, the art director of the gallery, Nihat Özdal, hosted a conversation with the gallery visitors on “Slow Art”, in which participants also got the opportunity to reflect together on the performance.

Below are photos showing some of the stages in the performance by Pınar Derin Gençer. Although seemingly simple, the process of actively following the artist drawing lines on the wall becomes an immersive experience.

Stage in the performance “Watching the Waves” by Pınar Derin Gençer for Slow Art Day 2023

The name of the gallery, “Ayzeradant”, comes from the “temple of wisdom” sign that the Armenian poet Tıngır hung at the entrance of his house in Buca in the 1800s. Tıngır was found dead in the grave he dug himself in 1881.

At Slow Art Day HQ, we are excited to see Slow Art Day gaining a foothold in Turkey. We look forward to future events from Ayzeradant Gallery, and hope that they will host a Slow Art Day also in 2024.

-Johanna, Jessica Jane, Phyl and Ashley

PS. Stay updated with events at Ayzeradant Gallery via their Instagram page.

Beauty from Brokenness: Slow Art Day in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Posted on March 7, 2024 by Johanna Bokedal

For their third Slow Art Day, Galleria l’arte di seta in Ljubljana, Slovenia, partnered with Elnovaspace Education Center to host three events in the period between April 13th – 18th, 2023 on the theme ‘Beauty from Brokenness.’

Slow Art Day participant, 2023, viewing artwork by artist Ruth Korthof

Slow Art Day participants, 2023, viewing artwork by artist Ruth Korthof

All events took place at the premises of Elnovaspace, Cigaletova 5, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

There were 3 main events:

April 13th opening
April 14 and 15 slow art looking (in person, individual guests)
April 18 conversation with the artist

Each event started with slow looking for 10 -15 minutes. They followed that by asking each participant to share their thoughts and reflections, and then concluded by talking about the ‘beauty of brokenness.’

Gallery founder, Lidija Drobež, said that “the common experience of looking slowly and the intriguing topic of beauty from brokenness jointly led to honest, meaningful and open discussion.”

Artist Ruth Korthof had no active role during slow art looking, but on April 18th she was actively involved as a participant. Later she said the following about the event:

We really like the way Galleria l’arte di seta approached this Slow Art Day and their three-day design with a focus on a single artist could be a good model for how other galleries might want to approach designing their own slow looking events.

Here at Slow Art Day HQ we were ourselves quite taken by the theme, and find Ruth Korthof’s art captivating. Porcelain is fragile, breakable, and beautiful, just like much of our world (and, of course, note the proximity of the Ukraine War and the threats Latvia is itself experiencing).

We look forward to whatever Galleria l’arte di seta and Elnovaspace come up with for their next Slow Art Day.

-Johanna, Phyl, Ashley, and Jessica Jane

PS. Stay up to date with Ruth Korthof and Galleria l’arte di seta through their Instagram.

PKULTRA’s Binary Encoded Slow Art Day

Posted on March 6, 2024 by Johanna Bokedal

For their second Slow Art Day, the art gallery PKULTRA, in Seattle, WA, invited visitors to look slowly at the art of gallery owner, Paul Kuniholm – a public artist who works in sculpture, video, mural art, time-based work, as well as digital and, for this exhibit, binary art.

Binary encoding artwork by Paul Kuniholm.

The binary-encoded art series for Slow Art Day consisted of wayfinding and fine art paintings using binary encoding of various light-hearted narratives from emojis, positive affirmations, cognitive behavioral therapy maxims and cheerful quips.

In addition, Kuniholm hosted a live hour-long audio ‘slow’ podcast with lots of silence, random conversation with passerbys, and others during the gallery’s Slow Art Day.

At one point during the podcast, Kuniholm reports that during his training at the Seattle Art Museum he was told the typical visitor spends 7 seconds looking at any individual artwork (a statistic we’ve seen and reported on before). He also muses about the ‘equation’ for slow looking.

After participants looked slowly, they were asked to take a whimsical exit survey (see below).

1. ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH YOUR SLOW ART DAY EXPERIENCE TODAY? [ ] YES [ ] NO
2. HAS ANYONE COMMENTED, YOU SEEM NUMERICAL? A TEN, ETC [ ] YES [ ] NO
3. DO YOU HAVE A SECRET “MAGIC” NUMBER? [ ] YES [ ] NO
4. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE NUMBER SONG? [ ] YES [ ] NO
5. DO YOU USE YOUR FINGERS, DIGITS, FOR MATH? [ ] YES [ ] NO
6. ARE YOU ALWAYS LOOKING OUT FOR NUMBER ONE? [ ] YES [ ] NO

At Slow Art Day HQ we are glad that PKULTURA has joined the Slow Art Day movement, and hope that other artist-run galleries take inspiration to host their own event in 2024.

-Johanna, Phyl, Ashley, and Jessica Jane.

P.S. Check out their Instagram for more information about PKULTURA.

The Florence County Museum Leads the Way

Posted on March 3, 2024 by Johanna Bokedal

For their second Slow Art Day, The Florence County Museum in South Carolina invited visitors to take a slow look at several artworks by local artist William H. Johnson (born 1901), featuring scenes of the everyday life of African Americans during the 1930s and 1940s.

On the day, all visitors were offered a printed slow looking guide (see below) and a Slow Art Day button when entering the museum. Visitors could choose between walking around on their own or taking part in a guided group tour, which were available throughout opening hours 10am-5pm. Refreshments were available in the afternoon (nice touch!).

Here’s the guide:

FCM-Slow-Art-Day-Guide-11×8.5 Download

The Florence County Museum did a great job with their Slow Art Day – a simple effective printed guide, a lovely button, focus on one artist, a choice between a formal tour and self-guided reflection, and, finally, even refreshments.

What an effective holistic approach to the day.

Other museums and galleries may want to consider copying their design (or at least their guide).

The Florence County Museum is leading the way in celebrating Slow Art Day and we look forward to what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2024 (registration is open!)

-Johanna, Phyl, Ashley, and Jessica Jane

PS. Stay up to date with the Florence County Museum’s news and exhibitions through their Instagram and Facebook pages.

Slow Art Day with Rosé at the Bula Barua Gallery

Posted on March 3, 2024 by Johanna Bokedal

For their first Slow Art Day, the Bula Barua Gallery in St. Petersburg, Florida, hosted an event called “Rosé and Fine Art.”

Arriving guests were welcomed with a glass of wine or water and given a slow tour of The Bula Barua Gallery. Each artwork had a QR code, which revealed the artwork’s story and description.

Slow looking participant at the Bula Gallery, 2023

Bula Barua is an artist whose conscientious approach to painting fits in well as a slow making approach. In her own words:

“I take a lot of time to plan out my paintings before I pick up a brush. I first start with a sketch and then graduate to pigments and paints. It often takes hundreds of layers of color to bring my vision to life […] This entire process from start to finish can take weeks or months, depending on the size of my canvas and which materials I use.”
Bula Barua. Statement from the Bula Gallery Website.

At Slow Art Day HQ we hope that more individual artists copy Bula Burua and host Slow Art Day events in their galleries and studios. It’s a great way to deepen their relationship with their followers, fans, and potential buyers.

We look forward to what Bula Burua comes up with for Slow Art Day 2024.

-Johanna, Ashley, Phyl, and Jessica Jane.

Gateway to Himalayan Art Workshop at Lehigh University Art Galleries

Posted on March 2, 2024 by Johanna Bokedal

For their fourth Slow Art Day the Lehigh University Art Galleries in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, extended gallery hours and presented a free community workshop in partnership with Shanthi Project, that connected with works on display in the Gateway to Himalayan Art Exhibition

Image: **Lobsang Drubjam Tsering.** *Medicine Buddha Palace* (Copy of first painting from the set of the Tibetan Medical Paintings from Mentsikhang Lhasa) Rebgong county, Qinghai Province, China; 2012-2013 Pigments on cloth. Rubin Museum of Art. SC2013.6

Slow looking workshop in Lehigh University Galleries with Dr. Kristin Baxter, 2023.

On April 15, participants were first led by teaching artist, Dr. Kristin Baxter in meditation and grounding exercises. They then spent some time looking slowly at a thangka painting of the Medicine Buddha on display as part of the exhibition Gateway to Himalayan Art (pictured above). Following their experience in the gallery, everyone was invited to create their own mindfulness journal to take home.

LUAG also posted short videos on social media to encourage individuals to slow down and take time to view individual works of art, as well as on LUAG@Home – an online listing of resources on their website.

At Slow Art Day HQ we love that Lehigh partnered with the Shanthi Project to bring meditative practices to their event. Meditation and slow looking are closely intwined as demonstrated by what the Rubin Museum of Art, the Phoenix Museum of Art and others have done since the beginning of our movement.

We look forward to whatever Lehigh University Art Galleries come up with for Slow Art Day 2024.

-Johanna, Ashley, Phyl, and Jessica Jane

Tea, Biscuits, and Year-Round Slow Looking

Posted on February 25, 2024 by Johanna Bokedal

This year Galleri Pictor and Munka folkhogskola (a Swedish folk high school and adult education center) hosted Slow Art events several times during the year: once in April for Slow Art Day, and three times during the summer for art students taking summer courses at the center. The slow looking sessions all took place at Galleri Pictor and each session focused on a single artwork – Clara Lundgren’s “Det var här” (“It was here”).

Clara Lundgren (undated). “Det var här” (It was here). Acrylic on canvas. 69×82 cm. This artwork was used for the slow looking sessions at Galleri Pictor.

Arriving participants were welcomed and given a worksheet (in Swedish) containing instructions for eye palming along with slow looking prompts.

These instructions have been translated into English below:

— Materials: Artwork, Worksheets and Timer —

1) Eye Palming is a technique to relax the muscles around the eyes. Warm your hands by rubbing them together for a few seconds. Close your eyes and press your palms lightly against your cheeks, then cup your fingers over your eyes and eyebrows. Breathe slowly and deeply for three minutes.

2) Open your eyes slowly and look at the artwork with the same focus you had on your breathing.
– What do you notice?
– What colors, compositions, shapes and materials do you see?
– Does the artwork remind you of an event in your life?
– Do you think others notice the same thing as you?
If your mind wanders, try to focus again on the image. Look at the artwork for 10 minutes.

3) Relax again. Take a few deep breaths and notice any further thoughts you have about the artwork.

4) Write down reflections on the worksheet. Do this for 10 minutes.

5) Finally, we reflect together on our experiences of the image and how it felt to do the activity.

During the slow looking session Charlotte Fällman Gleissner, art expert and teacher at Munka Folkhögskola, kept track of the time transitions using a timer.

For the closing group reflection, Galleri Pictor repeated their successful concept from last year of sharing tea and biscuits together while participants discussed their slow looking session. Some of the reflections from this section of the event are included on the Pictor Gallery blog (in Swedish).

We love the focus on a single art work (the original idea for Slow Art Day was to spend one hour with a single artwork).

We can’t wait to see what Galleri Pictor and Munka folkhögskola come up with for Slow Art Day 2024 – and throughout the year. We also hope that future events include tea and biscuits, especially if they save some for us!

– Johanna, Ashley, Phyl and Jessica Jane

New Delhi’s First Slow Art Day – Gallery Art.Motif

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Johanna Bokedal

For their first Slow Art Day (and as the first registered Slow Art Day in New Delhi), Gallery Art.Motif opened up the gallery to slow looking enthusiasts.

The event began at 11:00 am. Visitors were first welcomed by Joan Lueth, Slow Art Day Host at the gallery, and Gallery Owner and Director, Mala Anneja. We at Slow Art Day HQ want to point out that Lueth first brought Slow Art Day to China when she lived in Shanghai, and now, since moving to New Delhi, she has continued her evangelism by working with Anneja to bring it to the Indian capital.

The design of their day was simple: Lueth and Anneja invited participants to choose an artwork they felt drawn to. All participants spent time looking slowly at the art, and then after their slow looking, everyone came together over lunch to talk about the experience.

The Gallery primarily showcases contemporary abstract and non-representational art from both upcoming and established artists, leaving plenty of room for interpretations and impressions to share with others during the Slow Art Day discussion component.

We thank Leuth for continuing to bring Slow Art Day out around the world and can’t wait to see what Art.Mofif Gallery come up with for Slow Art Day 2024, and hope that other galleries in India will also be inspired to join the slow looking movement.