For their fourth Slow Art Day, Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale, Washington, invited visitors to join their Curator of Education, Sorcha Meek Paul, in a lively and ‘revelatory’ slow looking session focused on two paintings in the museum’s 2024 exhibition “Wallula to the Sea”, curated by Steve Grafe.
The two paintings were:
‘Journey’ by Chinook artist Greg A. Robinson
‘Wallula to the Sea’, a quadriptych, by Erik Sandgren
Sorcha Meek Paul presenting Erik Sandgren’s artwork ‘Wallula to the Sea’ for Slow Art Day, 2024.Sorcha Meek Paul with a participant, engaging with Erik Sandgren’s artwork ‘Wallula to the Sea’ for Slow Art Day, 2024.Slow looking at ‘Wallula to the Sea’ for Slow Art Day, 2024.Slow looking at Chinook artist Greg A. Robinson’s artwork, titled ‘Journey’, for Slow Art Day, 2024.
Ahead of Slow Art Day, the event was advertised via the museum’s website, Instagram and Facebook accounts. Sorcha also shared a post on her personal Instagram account. On the day itself, visitors responded to the invitation for “lively discussion” and participated in an interactive session with Sorcha (as we can see in the photos).
On the museum’s website, two lines in the description of the event caught our attention whilst writing this report – they point to the ‘revelatory’ nature of their Slow Art Day:
Looking creates dialogue which then reveals details, understanding, and life-long skills for looking at and connecting with art and art museums. No experience necessary.
This year the B&E Goulandris Foundation in Athens became the first museum in the Greek capital to host a Slow Art Day event.
The Foundation’s Slow Art Day included more than 200 visitors who looked slowly at these four artworks from their permanent collection:
“Caparisoned horse”, a funerary figurine from China’s Tang Dynasty (8th century)
“The Red Fish” by A.R. Penck on the second floor
“Large Study in Cadmium Red” by George Rorris on the third floor
“London Cityscape Piccadilly Circus I” by Chryssa on the fourth floor
The Red Fish by A. R. Penck, 1982 – one of four artworks chosen for Slow Art Day.
Visitors were invited to take a leaflet with slow looking prompts for their session, and were encouraged to keep it for their next visit. Facilitators also encouraged all visitors to discuss their Slow Art Day experiences with friends as well as to share on social media, using the hashtag #SlowArtDay.
Separately, The Foundation also co-hosted two mindfulness sessions with art historian, educator and mindfulness instructor Lydia Petropoulou.
Those sessions focused on Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s work “Ninety-nine Heads”, with the first session being for both adults and children aged 7+, while the second one was for adults only.
99 Heads by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, 1952.
The mindfulness sessions, they said, aimed to help participants become active, conscious viewers, encouraging them to draw information from what they see and feel instead of what they already know.
The B&E Goulandris Foundation submitted over 100 photos from their event for this report, which capture the beauty of slow looking at a range of the museum’s collection (we have included a few of those photos below our signature line).
We can’t wait to see what the B&E Goulandris Foundation comes up with for Slow Art Day 2025!
For their first Slow Art Day, Boston Athenaeum in Massachusetts invited participants to join one of four 30-minute slow looking and discussion sessions. (Note: As well as being a museum and cultural center, the Athenaeum is also one of America’s oldest member supported libraries.)
Slow Art Day participants being led in discussion by a docent. Photo by Fritz Holznagel.
The slow looking sessions were led by volunteer docents as well as the children’s librarian. The docents selected the works of art for slow looking, including works by Bradley Phillips, Allan Rohan Crite, and Polly (Ethel) Thayer.
The Empire City, 1987. Bradley Phillips (American, 1929–1991). Marble Players, 1938. Allan Rohan Crite (American, 1910–2007). Self Portrait, 1943. Polly (Ethel) Thayer (1904–2006). Donald Starr, 1935. Polly (Ethel) Thayer (1904–2006).
Visitors to the Athenaeum who didn’t participate in the scheduled slow looking sessions were offered a slow looking hand-out (attached below), and were invited to select a piece of art for their own slow looking. They also received a blank piece of paper, clipboard and pencil to help them sketch and/or list what they were noticing.
We are so glad to welcome the Boston Athenaeum to the global slow looking movement and are eager to see what design they come up with for Slow Art Day 2025.
– Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl.
PS. You can find details of other events at the Boston Athenaeum via their Instagram or Facebook page.
For their second Slow Art Day, the Eskenazi Museum of Art in Bloomington, Indiana, offered visitors a wide range of activities, including in-gallery sketching, snacks, self guided tours, discussion, and an art-based puzzle contest. Note that the museum is part of the growing Bloomington city-wide Slow Art Day event – which this year included more than 20 museums and galleries across the city (remarkable!).
For the slow looking activity, three artworks were highlighted by Eskenazi, though guests were encouraged to pick any piece in the collection:
“Swing Landscape” by Stuart Davis
“Matter” video by Adam Magyar Below is a still image from the video.
“Flight of a Thousand Birds” by Anila Agha
To facilitate individual slow looking and discussions, the museum re-used their slow looking hand-out from last year (with a few tweaks). We invite all museum curators and Slow Art Day hosts to view the particularly well-designed hand-out below.
Keaton Clulow, Public Experiences Manager, shared that the puzzle contest was particularly popular. For that, guests were asked to spend at least ten minutes with “Swing Landscape” by Stuart Davis before attempting to put together a giant 3D puzzle of the piece from memory.
Visitor viewing “Swing Landscape” by Stuart Davis.
The museum was also successful at involving all generations, including young people (see below).
Slow looking participant viewing an artwork in the museum. Photo by Shanti Knight.
At Slow Art Day HQ we love the creativity the Eskenazi brings to designing its Slow Art Day activities. We know we would enjoy working on the “slow-puzzle.”
We can’t wait to see what the Eskenazi Museum of Art comes up with for next year’s Blooming citywide event (which may turn into a statewide event – stay tuned).
P.P.S. The museum asked us to include this statement: The museum wishes to acknowledge and honor the myaamiaki, Lënape, Bodwéwadmik, and saawanwa people, whose ancestral homelands and resources Indiana University Bloomington occupies.
For their second Slow Art Day, Köpings Museum in Sweden organized both an in-person as well as an online slow-looking event. Additionally, this year the local library in Köping participated in Slow Art Day by borrowing a painting from the museum to use for slow looking.
Visitors to Köpings Museum were invited to join a slow-looking guided tour in the exhibit “A picture – a story” (“En bild – en historia”) by Ulf Rehnholm and Inger Holmberg.
Exhibition poster for the exhibition “A Picture – A History”
Visitors were also offered the below slow-looking instructions (in Swedish) for a self-guided option, as well as paper binoculars to help focus on details in the art.
“Solar Altar” by Lars Lindeberg (1925-2011). Color lithograph, 1999. The artwork belongs to Köping municipality’s art collection. The image was used for Köpings Museum’s digital Slow Art Day event.
At Slow Art Day HQ, we love seeing the library and museum work together – this is a great partnership that should inspire other museums around the world to work with their local libraries. Perhaps next year we will see more such partnerships develop.
In the meantime, we look forward to what Köpings Museum and the Köping Library come up with for 2025.
-Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl
P.S. Stay up to date with future events at Köpings museum via their Facebook page
P.P.S. There is no possessive apostrophe in Swedish – so Köpings Museum is written without that apostrophe (in English it would be Köping’s Museum).
Denise Bernabè, the Membership Coordinator at MART, selected five pieces from the Galleria Civica di Trento, the museum’s venue for temporary exhibitions and a hub for local Trentino artists. These works are part of the exhibit titled “Allegoria della Felicità Pubblica” (“Allegory of Public Happiness”), featuring pieces by Maurizio Nannucci, Diango Hernandez and Nan Goldin. The selected artworks were sent to participants via email a few days ahead of Slow Art Day, so that they could take their time and contemplate them slowly on their own in advance.
Participants engaging with Maurizio Nannucci’s “Moving Between Different Opportunities and Open Singularities,” 2017-2018
Participants engaging with Anna Esposito’s “Prima e dopo il concerto,” 1982
Participants engaging with “Tired Stop” by Diango Hernàndez, 2008
On Slow Art Day, participants were divided into two groups, each guided by a coordinator who engaged them in conversation about the artworks. They re-titled the works based on what each group felt they should be named and assigned scores from 0 to 5 based on the level of emotion evoked and aesthetic pleasure. They also discussed if they would put the artwork in their own home.
Further to make the inter-generational conversation work, an old “Amico del Museo” (literally ‘friend of the museum’), who is a professor at the University of Enology in San Michele all’Adige, brought a group of students to join Slow Art Day. These students were then invited them to engage with their “Amici del Museo” (lit. ‘friends of the museum’), mainly made up of older participants.
Discussions between and across generations were inspiring, and many said that they enjoyed the experience.
“Slow Art allows me to truly see the artworks, to see them through my own eyes. I visit so many museums that I often walk through the galleries without really looking. But Slow Art reminded me that artworks have meanings, even if there are multiple interpretations. It’s my task as an art advocate to capture at least a couple of those meanings.”
MARIAGRAZIA, Slow Art Day participant
“What I appreciate about Slow Art is the opportunity it gives me to listen to different opinions, often enriching my own understanding of the artwork. It sparks discussions and inspires me. I’ve also noticed that I’m now influenced by slow looking even when I visit other museums on my own.”
GIUSEPPE, Slow Art Day participant
Slow Art has become a well-established practice at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Rovereto and Trento (MART). Every month since 2020, a selection of artworks is presented to the Friends of the Museum (“Amici del Museo”), MART’s Members. They view the artworks together and share their perspectives both online and in person.
At Slow Art Day HQ we are always excited to hear about events at MART and how they continue to engage the wider community of museum members, including across generations, in slow looking activities throughout the year as well as for Slow Art Day itself.
We can’t wait to see what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2025.
On April 13th, Simone Raskin, art consultant and trainer at the Gallery L’Art de Regarder, organized the first official Slow Art Day in Bordeaux, sponsored by the Mairie de Bordeaux (the Bordeaux Town Hall) and hosted at the Espace Saint Rémi.
The Espace Saint Rémi was a church before the French Revolution and has over the centuries transformed into what is now a cultural center for exhibitions. Since 1991, the space has hosted a yearly photography exhibition titled Itinéraires des Photographes Voyageurs, which was created and organized by Nathalie Lamire-Fabre and Vincent Bengold as part of the first Mois de la Photo de Bordeaux (month of photography in Bordeaux).
The slow looking focused on the following 6 works from the photography exhibition:
Patrick Cockpit, “Pasaran, une dystopie franquiste”
Lise Dua, “Les loyautés & Une vie”
Charlotte Auricombe, “Cau Del Llop”
Benoît Capponi, “Toutes les heures blessent”
Sladjana Stankovic, “La Douce“
Thierry Girard, “The Tenjin Omuta Line”
Photo credit: Simone Raskin
The Slow Art Day event was not promoted separately, so Simone greeted the 250+ visitors with an explanation of slow looking, and invited participants to sit in chairs that were arranged in front of the works. She provided them with the following prompts to guide their experience:
What’s going on in this picture?
What is it that attracts you in this particular photography?
What is the mood of the photo?
What are the colors? What do they evoke to you?
What is the composition of this photo?
If you were to say one word about this photo, what would it be?
Does it remind you of a painting, a souvenir, a memory, a personal experience?
Below are some of the works in the event:
“Pasaran, une dystopie franquiste” by Patrick Cockpit
“Les loyautés & Une vie” by Lise Dua
“Cau Del Llop” by Charlotte Auricombe
“La Douce“by Sladjana Stankovic
“The Tenjin Omuta Line” by Thierry Girard
Simone reported that many of the participants thanked her for the event, and they were quite appreciative for the prompts that she provided. Several mentioned that they would try slow looking at future museum visits.
At Slow Art Day HQ we are so glad to hear that the event was so well-received and look forward to whatever Simone Raskin, Mairie de Bordeaux, or Espace Saint Rémi plan for Slow Art Day 2025!
Slow Art Day is *today* around the world – Silicon Valley, Berlin, New York, Cleveland, Boston, London, Singapore, Philadelphia, Australia, Washington D.C., Miami, South Africa, Rome, Paris, Brazil, Mexico, Los Angeles, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium…Bloomington, Indiana (where 20 galleries and museums are participating) to name just a few of the hundreds of museums, galleries, sculpture parks, universities hosting Slow Art Day today.
Small galleries (like the 20 in Bloomington, Indiana), small museums (like the Foster in Palo Alto), and big museums (like the Met in New York, The AGO in Toronto, or The Altes Museum in Berlin) are all hosting.
We started this movement 15 years ago with a simple aim: help more people learn how to look at and love art (and to support the educators and curators who share the same passion).
We are proud of how this movement has grown and created cultural space in the art world for the simple act of slowing down and looking.
So – happy Slow Art Day to all of you at all the museums, galleries, sculpture parks, universities, street art organizations who make Slow Art Day happen around the world. You are the heroes of the art world doing the important work of helping everyone slow down with art.
We look forward to getting your reports – photos, descriptions, etc – so we can continue to help you learn from and inspire each other.
Best,
– Phyl, Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Maggie
P.S. If you have not yet registered your Slow Art Day 2024 with us, then go to this page.
P.P.S. Our 2023 Annual Report is out. Read it and get inspired!
Slow Art Day 2024 is tomorrow, Saturday, April 13 and yet again there are an amazing variety of museums, galleries, churches, cities, sculpture parks joining us from around the world (see the full list) – including across Europe.
To name just a few across that continent…
There are three cities hosting citywide Slow Art Days – Antwerp, Belgium (*8* locations), Reims, France (*4* locations), Rome, Italy (*3* museums).
Some countries are hosting multiple sites including Belgium (*11* locations including Antwerp), Sweden (*8* locations), Italy (*7* locations including Rome), England (*6* locations), Germany (*5* locations including 2 in Berlin), Spain (*4* locations), Ireland (*3* locations), Denmark (*2* locations).
Then Ukraine, Slovenia and several other countries have single sites for Slow Art Day 2024.
Here’s details on just two of these locations:
Altes Museum – Berlin
The Altes Museum (English: Old Museum) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was originally built between 1825 and 1830. It’s in the heart of Berlin on the museum island. For their Slow Art Day they are running a workshop in the Greek and Roman galleries.
And I love this – the “prerequisite” for participation in this workshop is “curiosity and goodwill towards yourself.” Lovely. Led by the art therapists Naira Bloss and Ulla Utasch, the workshop includes a short guided relaxation exercise, slow looking at selected ancient art, then followed by an in-depth discussion.
Sweden Nationalmuseum
The Swedish Nationalmuseum is hosting another art chill in their beautiful Sculpture Courtyard. They are providing yoga mats and an optional soundtrack.
These are just a few of the hundreds of places hosting events around the world this year.
And, of course, you can run your own personal Slow Art Day anywhere anytime.
We hope you have a wonderful Slow Art Day 2024.
– Phyl
P.S. If you have not yet registered your Slow Art Day with us, then go to this page.
P.P.S. Our 2023 Annual Report is out. Read it and get inspired!
Slow Art Day 2024 is coming up this Saturday, April 13 and yet again there are an amazing variety of museums, galleries, churches, cities, sculpture parks joining us from around the world (see the full list) – including across the East Coast of the United States.
To name just a few across the East Coast…
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Met Cloisters will be hosting again in New York City.
Mass MoCA will be hosting again in North Adams, MA while the Worcester Art Museum will yet again produce a Slow Art Day in that city. The beautiful and wonderful Athenaeum will be hosting in Boston. Connecticut and New Jersey supports several locations including the Grounds for Sculpture.
Philadelphia has a nascent citywide including The Barnes Foundation, Glenn Foerd, and the Magic Gardens.
In Washington D.C., the National Museum of Women in the Arts is hosting yet again (they are one the founding museums for Slow Art Day). Virginia and North Carolina have multiple locations across those states while Florida hosts *7* different venues including the Frost Art Museum and the Lowe Art Museum both in Miami.
Here are a few locations –
Mass MoCA
This year, Mass MoCA has created two ways to experience Slow Art Day:
Slow Looking Tours
A paired audiowalk they are calling “Where I End & You Begin,” which requires advance reservations.
The museum has had a close relationship with artist James Turrell and with the now-deceased Professor Arden Reed who wrote a terrific book, “Slow Art : The Experience of Looking, Sacred Images to James Turrell”, which talks about Slow Art Day (and for which I gave a blurb on the back cover).
James Turrell, “Once Around, Violet (Shallow Space),” 1971.
Barnes Foundation
The Barnes always produces a thoughtful and interesting Slow Art Day (and we are in conversations with them about a conference – stay tuned for more details).
This year, when participants arrive, they will receive a list of five paintings for self-guided slow looking. They will be encouraged to spend an hour or so looking, and then will be invited to a discussion in the Herbert and Joyce Kean Family Classroom. That discussion will be led by Barnes senior instructor Michael Williamson.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Before the Bath (detail), c. 1875. BF9. Public Domain.
National Museum of Women in the Arts
We love the National Museum of Women in the Arts – they are founders of the Slow Art Day movement and they have led the global re-awakening to the centuries-old role of women artists.
Their event this year is sold out. So, if you live in Washington, DC then plan ahead for their Slow Art Day 2025.
The Boston Athenaeum, which combines a library, with a museum and cultural center, is hosting Slow Art Day in their landmark building.
They will be focusing on a single painting by Boston artist Allan Rohan Crite.
Worcester Art Museum
Our friends at Juniper Rag are co-sponsoring a Slow Art Day at the Worcester Art Museum. The WAM will be focusing their slow looking event on the new Terrain Exhibition, which features 21st-Century landscape photographers and how these contemporary artists use different photographic processes to explore the idea of landscape.
Frost Art Museum
For their *13th* Slow Art Day (Frost is one of the founding museums of this slow looking movement), Frost will feature performances by Miami-based artists Smita Sen (pictured on the right – below), who explores the relationship between the body and memory through sculpture and technology, and Agua Dulce (left – below), a Miami-based artist who uses organic materials to blur the line between the mystical and mundane.
These are just a few of the hundreds of places hosting events around the world this year.
And, of course, you can run your own personal Slow Art Day anywhere anytime.
We hope you have a wonderful Slow Art Day 2024.
– Phyl
P.S. If you have not yet registered your Slow Art Day with us, then go to this page.
P.P.S. Our 2023 Annual Report is out. Read it and get inspired!
