For Slow Art Day 2024 – their 5th Slow art Day, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia invited visitors to look slowly at five artworks from their collection:
- Cezanne’s Card Players
- Soutine’s Flayed Rabbit
- Renoir’s Before The Bath
- Claude Monet’s The Studio Boat
- Picasso’s Young Woman Holding a Cigarette
After looking slowly at these artworks, the many participants went to the Kean Family Classroom for an opportunity to talk together. This is the moment that Slow Art Day becomes community – a time to reflect, see through each other’s eyes, and create both intimacy and joy.
Led by Michael Williamson, Senior Instructor in Adult Education, the discussion among the participants was indeed so good – people felt so connected to the art and to each other – that it went way beyond the scheduled time allotted for it.
Giving expression to the exuberance that everyone felt, Williamson called the event a “resounding success.”
Below you will find a photo from the conversation – and their very cool handout (feel free to copy!).
In terms of marketing, the Barnes Foundation promoted Slow Art Day on their website, Instagram, and Facebook.
At Slow Art Day HQ we get inspired by these reports that come in from around the world – from big museums, and small, to highly influential organizations like The Barnes.
The Barnes, which has a long history of fostering slow looking at art, has become a great leader in our global movement and we look forward to seeing what they come up with for 2025, which also happens to be their centennial year.
– Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl