Slow Art Day 2012 report: Chinese Arts Centre in the United Kingdom
May 17th, 2012An open studios event, Slow Art Day 2012 at the Chinese Arts Center in Manchester, United Kingdom, saw a steady stream of 88 visitors slowly enjoying art while interacting with the artists and enjoying a snack of slowly made food (10-day sourdough, Amish Friendship Bread, tea eggs, cheese, radish seedleaves, and ginger beer). Hosted by a collective of artists in residence, the pieces visitors viewed were all contemporary, nontraditional works-in-progress by members of the Life Friendly Collective, including many interactive elements, such as a collaborative story on the gallery wall initiated by Elizabeth Wewiora (pictured below).
Photo by Erinma Ochu
Visitors felt the context of Slow Art Day made them more likely to spend time thinking about as well as participating in the art pieces, and the overall response was very positive!
–Report by Jessica Mautner, on behalf of Life Friendly Collective. Edited by Slow Art Day blog editor Jennafer Martin
Slow Art Day Report 2012: Tate Britain
May 10th, 2012
Although the weather outside was cold and rainy, the feeling inside the United Kingdom’s Tate Britain was sunny and inspired for attendees of Slow Art Day on Saturday, 28th April, 2012. A stimulating event that built a stronger interest in art among its attendees, this was the second Slow Art Day event that Paul Langton hosted. Paul collaborated with Tate’s Community Learning team on several promotions, including an informative post on Tate’s website, and this year’s event attracted a wider and varied audience than the previous year’s, including a one-year-old baby as well as Tate’s Curator of Community Learning, Liz Ellis.The attendees chose to stay together throughout the event rather than viewing the selected pieces individually, and together they thoughtfully viewed a variety of media, including video, oil, urethane, concrete, and more. (The baby was particularly interested in the concrete piece, a bust of Stalin by Peter Lazslo Peri!) Among these was Rachel Whiteread’s Untitled (Black Bath) below.
A lively discussion over lunch helped the group get to know one another better, and they discovered that one attendee’s relative was due to host Slow Art Day in London, Ontario, that day. That connection helped them feel like a part of Slow Art Day beyond their immediate circle, appreciating the event as part of a universal experience overall.
-Paul Langton’s host report edited by Slow Art Day editor Jennafer Martin
Introducing the ‘slow art’ movement; it’s like the ‘slow food’ movement, with art (and food)
May 7th, 2012For a few moments, the event acquired a six-men-of-Indostan quality.
The abstract painting by Reed Danziger, exploding with colors and shapes, brought to mind a collage, said a painter and teacher of Hebrew from Israel. An artist from Brooklyn demurred. There was so much going on—it gave her the sense of standing in front of a manifesto, she insisted. Surely it resembled a film strip, argued a painter from Long Island City.
The artists were gathered atMcKenzie Fine Art gallery in Chelsea on Saturday for Slow Art Day, an annual event during which art lovers visit local museums and galleries to look—slowly, deliberately, and thoughtfully—at pre-selected works, and then repair to lunch to discuss the experience.
Slow Art Day 2012 Report: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
April 30th, 2012The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center hosted its first Slow Art Day on April 28, 2012 – and based on the success, host Nicole Anthony says that the center plans to offer slow art viewing exercises, complete with a post-viewing wrap-up, more often.
Host Nicole Anthony of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.
Like many Slow Art Day events it was small but significant. The small group size allowed for lengthy discussion over each of the 5 different art pieces that Anthony chose—in fact, there was so much engagement that the group spent an average of 30 minutes slowly looking at and then discussing each piece.
John Wayne, 1963 (mixed media) by Marisol (Escobar) was one of the five pieces Nicole Anthony chose for the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Slow Art Day 2012.
Afterwards, lunch in the center’s cafe continued the lively conversation. As with many Slow Art Day events, the experience not only increased participants’ love for art, but Anthony says it also created a surprisingly deep sense of community.
- Nicole Anthony’s host report edited by Slow Art Day editors Jennafer Martin and Phil Terry