Author Archives: Ashley Moran

The Tragedy of War and the Power of Art at the National Museum of Decorative Arts of Ukraine

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On April 11, 2026, the National Museum of Decorative Arts of Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine, hosted their second Slow Art Day.

Before we describe the event, let us be clear. We at Slow Art Day stand for peace and global cooperation and it breaks our hearts to see the wars in Europe and around the world.

Official casualty figures for the Russian invasion are closely guarded and difficult to verify, but independent analysts and intelligence agencies estimate that combined military and civilian casualties on both sides of the war have surpassed 1.5 to 2 million people.

That is terrible.

Along with this unbelievable loss of life, there has also been the loss of culture, infrastructure, buildings, art, and many, many homes.

With that in mind, the National Museum of Decorative Arts of Ukraine in Kyiv chose to focus on an artist, Kateryna Hryshko, whose work is dedicated to two important Ukrainian folk artists, Maria Prymachenko and Polina Rayko.

She chose those two because of what happened to their art.

When a Russian shell struck the museum that housed Maria Prymachenko’s art, the museum’s guard, who lived next door, ran into the burning building and managed to rescue the Prymachenko works it housed. Many other pieces in the collection were lost.

In a separate attack, the museum-house of Polina Rayko was destroyed forever by the torrential flooding that followed when the Russians blew up the Kakhovka dam in June 2023. And because Rayko’s art was painted directly on the walls, it too is gone forever.

For Slow Art Day, visitors were invited to engage in a focused and thoughtful contemplation of decorative panel “Wings.”

Olha Frasyniuk led this year’s event, along with museum specialist Olena Shevchuk. Together, they delved into the symbolism of Hryshko’s panel, “Wings”, which was dedicated to Maria Prymachenko and Polina Rayko.

The composition features iconographic images of the Virgin Mary in the center. On the left, Maria Prymachenko is depicted against a night sky with lightning directed towards a house with a stork, symbolizing the Ivankiv Museum destroyed in February 2022. On the right, Polina Rayko’s figure has feet submerged in water with a drowning bird and cat nearby, a symbolic reminder of the Kakhovka tragedy in June 2023, which flooded the artist’s house-museum. At the bottom, a cross “In Memory of the Fallen Heroes” and a line from Lina Kostenko’s poem “Wings” are included. The painting’s field is adorned with recognizable fragments and images characteristic of both artists’ works, framed by a lush carved wooden frame with three cherubs. Kateryna Hryshko donated this deeply meaningful work to the National Museum of Decorative Arts of Ukraine in 2024.

Kateryna Gryshko. Decorative panel “Wings”. 2024. Photo courtesy of National Museum of Decorative Arts of Ukraine.

Participants listened with interest to stories about the destruction of the museum-house of Polina Rayko and of the rescue of paintings from the museum that housed Maria Prymachenko’s paintings. They then shared their own experiences of loss and destruction from the war including when their homes or offices were bombed and how they too have lost and/or rescued important personal items.

Out of this terrible tragedy, the Ukrainians show they are a free people who continue to participate in culture and art amidst the destruction around them.

There’s a real beauty to this Ukrainian Slow Art Day that deserves celebration by all of us around the world.

Photo courtesy of National Museum of Decorative Arts of Ukraine.

Olena Shevchuk talking about the work. Photo courtesy of National Museum of Decorative Arts of Ukraine.

We at Slow Art Day HQ are grateful to the National Museum of Decorative Arts of Ukraine for their thoughtful and poignant Slow Art Day event and for reminding us to hold dear the people and the art around us.

We look forward to seeing what they design for Slow Art Day 2027, and, more importantly, we look forward to the end of this terrible war.

— Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. View them on Instagram, Facebook, and their website.

Guided Slow Looking and Drawing at the National Gallery of Canada

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The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, hosted its fourth annual Slow Art Day on April 11, 2026. Andrea Gumpert, Educator of Wellbeing Programs, led the efforts for this year’s event, which invited visitors to either participate in a guided onsite experience, watch a guided slow looking video from home, or engage independently with a bilingual handout that encouraged them to “Slow Down. Reflect. Discover. Engage.”

A mix of English- and French-speaking participants joined Interpreter-Guides Taylor Simard and Eddie Schmidt for an hour-long onsite guided slow looking session. The groups began with a warm-up and introductory conversation about the purpose of slowing down.

Participants then spent five minutes looking at a chosen artwork, followed by a group discussion. They then moved to a different gallery where they repeated the exercise. Following that, participants were invited to explore the museum and select additional artworks for further slow looking. Some explored Indigenous and Canadian galleries, while others gravitated to the European galleries. They were offered folding stools for comfort, and pencils, paper, and sketch boards, many of which were used for drawing.

Participants engaged in slow looking and drawing at the National Gallery of Canada. Photo credit: Taylor Simard.

During the facilitated sessions, the Interpreter-Guides used open-ended prompt questions to facilitate discussion, including: “What is your first impression? Why did you choose this work?” and “Can you associate a word or an emotion to this artwork?” They also encouraged participants to reflect on what the artwork told them about themselves and to jot down a memory or sketch something simple.

Guide Eddie Schmidt noted that participants were “chatty and had great observations, discussion,” while Taylor Simard observed that several participants were “locked in” for the full ten minutes of observation. Both said that participants truly enjoyed the experience, and would return for the Gallery’s monthly Guided Slow Looking Sunday program.

That’s wonderful. Back in 2010, we set a key goal of the Slow Art Day movement: use the annual day to encourage museums to adopt year-round programming and many have like the National Gallery of Canada.

We think this kind of device-off, intensive, real-space experience with other humans is just what our fractured world needs.

The Gallery also did some great outreach. The Visitor Services team distributed the bilingual Slow Looking handout to 59 groups. The Marketing team created a one-minute guided slow looking video, as noted earlier, that was published on Facebook and Instagram, and was later uploaded to the Gallery’s Guided Slow Looking Sunday page.

We at Slow Art Day HQ are grateful to Andrea Gumpert, Taylor Simard, Eddie Schmidt, and the entire team at the National Gallery of Canada for their continued dedication to our movement and we look forward to seeing what they design for Slow Art Day 2027.

— Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. View them on their website.

Family Slow Drawing at Wiregrass Museum of Art in Alabama

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The Wiregrass Museum of Art in Dothan, Alabama, celebrated its sixth Slow Art Day on April 11, 2026, though this doesn’t tell the whole story. Dana Marie Lemmer, the Executive Director of the museum, played a key role as (volunteer) Director of Global Operators in the Slow Art Day movement from 2012 to 2014.

This year, Dana’s colleague, Janin Wise, Art Educator and School Programs & Volunteer Coordinator, hosted the Slow Art Day event using both facilitated discussion and drawing exercises.

Wise invited guests to sit with her for guided slow looking in chairs around a bench in the Marie Saliba Gallery. She started the process by asking “What first caught your eye?”, then by scanning for color and composition, and discussing the artist’s hand.

The featured artworks included:

  • “Lilly, 2022” by Sam Gilliam, an acrylic with sawdust, encaustic, and polypropylene on canvas with beveled-edge stretcher
  • “Magnitude of Regions, 1962” by Alice Trumbull Mason, an oil on canvas
  • “Prelude on Gray, 1982” by Richard Crist, an acrylic on canvas
  • “Untitled, 1960” by Angelo Granata, an ink on paper
  • “High Beams, 2020” by Derek Cracco, an acrylic on panel

Sam Gilliam’s ‘Lilly, 2022’. Photo courtesy of Joan McDonald and Janin Wise.
Alice Trumbull Mason’s ‘Magnitude of Regions, 1962’. Photo courtesy of Joan McDonald and Janin Wise.

One family with a 17-year-old daughter was drawn to the texture and color of Gilliam’s “Lilly.” When discussing Alice Trumbull Mason’s “Magnitude of Regions,” the mother expressed both empathy, seeing “sunlight through dark curtains”, and hope, after learning the artist made the work after her son’s death.

At the same time, a Korean American family, participated with an older brother translating for his mother and nonverbal younger brother. That family also appreciated the color and texture, and the geometry of Mason’s piece. Everyone who participated were astonished to learn they could literally see the artist’s hand in Gilliam’s work.

Participants engaged in slow looking and drawing exercises. Photo courtesy of Joan McDonald and Janin Wise.

For Derek Cracco’s “High Beams,” a drawing exercise was introduced that led to laughter and discussions about childhood art classes and local art opportunities. Participants folded paper into quarters and completed four different drawing tasks:

  • a 10-second quick sketch
  • drawing with their non-dominant hand
  • drawing without looking at the paper
  • a continuous line drawing where they imagined changes in time or space

Janin Wise noted that participants were surprised by how relaxing it was to spend so much time with a few pieces of art. Visitors were delighted by the calm, guided slow looking relaxing and by their newfound ability to notice new details and use their imaginations to step into the artwork.

Most did not typically consider themselves “abstract art kind of people” and yet, by slowing down, they thoroughly enjoyed the art.

Yes! That is exactly the kind of discovery Slow Art Day we hope people make.

It turns out that by simply slowing down, participants can find a new relationship to art, including art they may think they don’t like, or don’t understand.

We at Slow Art Day HQ are grateful to Janin Wise and the Wiregrass Museum of Art for their continued dedication to our slow looking movement. We look forward to seeing what they create for Slow Art Day 2027.

— Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. View them on Instagram and their website.

Self-Guided Slow Looking and Activities at Art Gallery of St. Albert in Canada

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The Art Gallery of St. Albert in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, hosted its seventh Slow Art Day on April 11, 2026. Director Leah Louden and her team encouraged visitors to engage deeply with art through a variety of self-guided activities. The event focused on the current main exhibition, “Ephemeral Language / Langue éphémère” by Sébastien Gaudette, and the staircase feature exhibition, “Knotty Enigmas” by Zana Wensel.

Upon arrival, visitors were invited to use a Slow Looking Guide drafted by the Curator to practice slow looking while exploring the current exhibitions. Staff were on hand to provide additional information.

Visitors of all ages were also invited to participate in several additional activities:

– An iSpy activity encouraged close observation to identify detail shots of 12 artworks throughout the building.

– For the “Ephemeral Language / Langue éphémère” exhibition, an activity booklet offered drawing and educational activities such as drawing a paper illusion, completing a word search, or crafting a paper balloon.

– A drop-in Art Nook activity, called “Creative Crumples,” invited participants to create imaginative drawings from crumpled paper.

Light refreshments were also available, encouraging guests to linger and slowly enjoy the artwork. The event was promoted through their website and social media, and a total of 37 people attended.

“Langage éphémère” by Sébastien Gaudette, 2026, Paper Installation. Photo courtesy of Art Gallery of St. Albert.

One of Sébastien Gaudette’s artworks, “Langage éphémère,” a 2026 paper installation from the “Ephemeral Language / Langue éphémère” exhibition, was featured in an Art Minute video prior to Slow Art Day. This piece was chosen to highlight how a seemingly simplistic artwork could reveal its complexity and beauty through close, slow looking. Guests were surprised by the material of many artworks in Gaudette’s exhibition.

Visitors engaging with art at the Art Gallery of St. Albert. Photo by Sarah Bach, 2026.

We at Slow Art Day HQ are grateful to Leah Louden and the Art Gallery of St. Albert for their continued dedication to fostering deep engagement with art and were impressed by their innovative self-guided activities. We look forward to seeing what they create for Slow Art Day 2027.

— Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. View them on their website and Instagram.

A “Very Slow Viewing Tour” at Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion in Estonia

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For their first Slow Art Day, Tallinn Art Hall Lasnamäe Pavilion in Estonia hosted a contemplative “very slow viewing tour” within the exhibition featuring works by artists Vladimir Yankilevsky and Valeri Vinogradov.

Led by curator and guide Aljona Tubaleva, the session invited visitors to enter the exhibition space as a spiritual and emotional landscape—a place where human feelings, perceptions, and ideas unfold beyond what is immediately visible.

Vladimir Yankilevsky and Valeri Vinogradov.Photo credit: Tallinn Art Hall, Paul Kuimet.
Vladimir Yankilevsky and Valeri Vinogradov.Photo credit: Tallinn Art Hall, Paul Kuimet.

The tour began with a grounding exercise that helped participants slow down and focus inward before turning their attention to the artworks around them. In this calm atmosphere, visitors explored the relationships between colors, shapes, and emotional undertones within the works.

Participants were encouraged to notice how their interpretations evolved as they learned more about the exhibition’s curatorial concept and the artists’ intentions. By consciously shifting their focus—sometimes inward toward their own emotional responses and sometimes outward toward the artwork—visitors discovered how meaning can change through attentive observation.

Vladimir Yankilevsky and Valeri Vinogradov.Photo credit: Tallinn Art Hall, Paul Kuimet.
Vladimir Yankilevsky and Valeri Vinogradov.Photo credit: Tallinn Art Hall, Paul Kuimet.

The slow tour emphasized curiosity and personal reflection. Rather than rushing through the exhibition, participants were invited to think about how their feelings might take shape within the “artistic landscape” created by the works on view.

We at Slow Art Day HQ are grateful to Aljona Tubaleva and the team at Tallinn Art Hall for creating such a thoughtful and meditative slow looking experience at the Lasnamäe Pavilion.

We look forward to what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2026, which is coming up April 11, 2026.

— Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. If you have not yet registered your museum of gallery for Slow Art Day 2026, please do.

Two-Day Slow Art Journey in San Francisco

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For Slow Art Day 2025, Bay Area participant Div hosted a unique, two-day experience that blended group slow looking at museums with individual ature observation, photography, and handmade art. The gathering, titled “Nowhere Div – Slow Art Day – San Francisco,” invited participants to slow down and reconnect with art through both creative practice and mindful observation.

Div’s personal experience unfolded over two days and across several locations in San Francisco, beginning with a slow walk through parks and gardens near Golden Gate Park and a reflective visit to the de Young Museum.

Div documented a series of seven “slow moments” during the journey, each centered on noticing beauty and emotional resonance in everyday surroundings. These moments included quiet reflection among the tulips at the Queen Wilhelmina Garden, a feeling of awe along Ocean Beach, and time spent with artworks at the de Young Museum. The walk continued through several locations in and around Golden Gate Park, including the Rose Garden, the Japanese Tea Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers, and the San Francisco Botanical Garden. You can read more about Div’s personal journey on their blog post.

Each stop became an opportunity to pause and look carefully. Flowers, trees, and landscapes were photographed and paired with short reflections. Together, these observations formed a contemplative visual journal inspired by the spirit of Slow Art Day.

The following day, Div hosted a small community gathering in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco. Participants were invited to spend time with handmade butterfly origami mandala wall art and floral photography created by the host. The session included prompts encouraging visitors to reflect on the experience of slow looking and to consider how spending more time with an artwork changes perception and emotional connection.

By combining museum visits, nature photography, and handmade artwork within a personal gathering, Div created a thoughtful example of how Slow Art Day can extend beyond formal institutions into everyday life. The experience demonstrated that slow looking can happen anywhere—from galleries and gardens to community spaces and personal creative practice.

We at Slow Art Day HQ are grateful to Div for sharing this reflective and deeply personal approach to Slow Art Day and look forward to what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2026, which is coming up April 11, 2026!

— Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. If you have not yet registered your museum of gallery for Slow Art Day 2026, please do.

Multi-Sensory Experience at Maryhill Museum

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For their fifth Slow Art Day, the Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale, Washington hosted a lively and imaginative slow looking session led by Curator of Education Sorcha Meek Paul.

Participants gathered to spend time with two paintings from the museum’s permanent collection:

  1. The Wedding Feast c.1660 by Gillis van Tilborg the Younger. Oil on Canvas. Flemish, c. 1625-c.1678
  2. The Crofters’ Kitchen, 1884 by Rober Henry Roe. Oil on canvas. British, 1822-1905

The session began with several minutes of quiet observation. Visitors were invited to share their initial impressions using the simple phrase “I see…”, taking turns describing what they noticed in the paintings. This approach helped participants to focus on careful observation as well as helped to create community by having the participants build on each other’s discoveries.

Next, Sorcha guided the group through a sensory exercise designed to deepen engagement with the artworks. Participants were asked to imagine stepping into the paintings and to consider what they might smell in the scene. When looking at The Wedding Feast, this question sparked laughter as visitors imagined the smells of food, drink, and a bustling celebration.

Visitors then imagined what they might hear, leading to the discovery of new details, including a man playing a lute in the background of the lively gathering. Participants also considered taste and touch.

Only after this extended slow looking and imaginative exploration did Sorcha introduce historical context. Participants learned that The Wedding Feast was painted around the same era as Johannes Vermeer created Girl with a Pearl Earring, prompting participants to notice similarities.

One of the highlights of the session was the participation of children. For the first time in their Slow Art Day design, they invited younger visitors to join the discussion. The young people brought fresh observations and enthusiasm. As Sorcha noted, it was especially rewarding to see a 10-year-old become excited about looking closely at art.

Through quiet observation, sensory imagination, and shared discovery, the Slow Art Day program at Maryhill Museum of Art created community and joy for visitors of all ages.

We at Slow Art Day HQ are grateful to Sorcha Meek Paul and the team at Maryhill Museum of Art for creating such an engaging and welcoming experience and look forward to what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2026, which is coming up April 11, 2026.

— Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. If you have not yet registered your museum of gallery for Slow Art Day 2026, please do.

Collective Memory and Slow Writing at Nordiska Akvarellmuseet’s First Slow Art Day

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For their first Slow Art Day, the Nordiska Akvarellmuseet in Sweden hosted a reflective slow looking session featuring works by Swedish artist Claes Hake in the exhibition “HAKE / Retrospective 1962–2024.”

The session was led by museum art educator Renée Tan, who designed the experience to emphasize quiet observation and personal reflection before introducing interpretation or historical context.

Participants began by sitting together in silence for 15 minutes in front of three paintings: My First Gold Painting, The Woods 2, and The Woods 1. Visitors were asked to turn off their mobile phones and simply observe the works without any prior explanation about the artist or the artworks.

The Woods 2 and The Woods 1. Photo courtesy of Nordiska Akvarellmuseet.
My First Gold Painting. Photo courtesy of Nordiska Akvarellmuseet.

After the silent viewing period, Renée Tan invited participants to share their impressions through guided questions. The conversation focused on participants’ sensory and emotional responses to the paintings, including the atmosphere of the space, the shapes and colors in the compositions, the materials and techniques used, and possible metaphorical interpretations that emerged during the slow looking process.

Following the discussion, the group continued with a guided walk through the rest of the exhibition. The tour concluded in front of the oldest artwork in the exhibition, created by Claes Hake when he was just 17 years old.

At this final stop, participants were invited to reflect on their own past. Renée asked them to think about a place connected to their youth and imagine themselves there again. Each participant then chose a feeling, object, or activity associated with that memory and wrote it down on small pieces of paper.

The papers were placed on the floor alongside slips containing the words “I remember.” As the participants’ reflections accumulated, the fragments formed a collective memory poem, connecting personal histories with the experience of looking at art.

Through silence, conversation, shared reflection, and poetry, the Slow Art Day session at Nordiska Akvarellmuseet demonstrated how slow looking can go beyond observation to open up space for memory, storytelling, and collective creativity.

We at Slow Art Day HQ are grateful to Renée Tan and the team at Nordiska Akvarellmuseet for creating such a thoughtful and participatory experience. We look forward to what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2026, which is coming up April 11, 2026.

— Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. If you have not yet registered your museum of gallery for Slow Art Day 2026, please do.

Poetry, Audio Narration, and Slow Drawing at the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest

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For Slow Art Day 2025, the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest (MFAB) created a thoughtful set of tools and experiences designed to help visitors slow down and engage deeply with artworks throughout the museum’s galleries.

Rather than focusing on a single guided session, MFAB encouraged visitors to explore slow looking independently through several creative formats available throughout the museum. These tools were offered free of charge and invited guests to pause, observe carefully, and spend more time with selected artworks.

One of the most unique elements was a poetry booklet created by Hungarian poet Monika Ferencz, written specifically for the occasion. Visitors could take the booklet and move slowly through the museum while reflecting on short meditative poems and evocative text fragments. The idea was simple but powerful: choose a line, walk through the galleries, and allow the words to shape how you look at the art.

The museum also introduced a “Slow Guide – Step Inside the Painting” audio experience. By scanning QR codes placed next to eight selected artworks, visitors could listen to narrated audio reflections accompanied by music while looking closely at the paintings. This immersive format encouraged visitors to spend longer with individual works and experience them through both sound and sight.

Another activity invited visitors to draw directly in the galleries. Guests could borrow a small folding chair, drawing board, paper, and pencil and spend time sketching details from artworks in the permanent collection. Focusing on small portions of the paintings helped participants notice subtle details they might have otherwise overlooked.

MFAB also extended its Slow Art Day programming into its regular Slow Museum evening series hosted on the 2nd Friday of each month (we love it when museums integrate slow looking into year-round programming!). One highlight was a Slow Writing Workshop led by Judit Cser, poet Monika Ferencz and museum educator Szilvia Záray, where participants used slow looking techniques as inspiration for creative writing. The three-session workshop took place in the Old Masters’ Gallery and invited a small group of participants to explore how close observation of artworks can spark new ideas and language.

Slow Writing Workshop. Photo courtesy of MFAB.
Slow Writing Workshop. Photo courtesy of MFAB.

But that’s not all.

The MFAB provided yet one more guided experience, titled “The Gaze.” It brought visitors together for a one-hour slow looking session in the Dutch portrait gallery. Led by museum educator Szilvia Záray, the session encouraged participants to carefully study facial expressions, posture, and subtle details within the portraits while sharing their observations with the group. Amazing.

Participant during slow art session “The Gaze”. Photo courtesy of MFAB.

Together, these programs demonstrated how a museum can offer many different entry points into slow looking—from poetry and sound to drawing and writing—allowing visitors to discover the approach that resonates most with them, not only on Slow Art Day but throughout the year.

We at Slow Art Day HQ are grateful to the team at the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest for their thoughtful and creative approach. They are an inspiration for us all.

And we can’t wait to see what MFAB comes up with for Slow Art Day 2026.

— Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. If you have not yet registered your museum of gallery for Slow Art Day 2026, please do.

Myth, Symbolism and Reflection at PEANA in Mexico City

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For their first Slow Art Day – as part of the large 2025 citywide event in Mexico City, the contemporary gallery PEANA in Mexico City, Mexico hosted an immersive slow looking experience centered on “Their Silhouettes Bristled With Razors,” the first solo exhibition at the gallery by Mexican artist Naomi Rincón Gallardo.

Rincón Gallardo’s work explores themes of contemporary violence, decolonial thought, and ancient Mesoamerican narratives. The exhibition was presented in a dim, atmospheric environment that invited visitors to slow down and spend time contemplating the symbolic imagery and layered storytelling within the works.

The PEANA team welcomed visitors with a brief introduction and encouraged participants to approach the experience with openness and curiosity. Printed reflection prompts were distributed to guide the slow looking process, asking visitors questions about the symbolism they noticed, their first impressions of the artworks, and how their perceptions evolved as they spent more time observing.

Participants during the Slow Art Day event. Photo courtesy of PEANA.

The prompts also invited creative responses, encouraging participants to draw, write a poem, or describe their reactions after spending time with the artworks. This simple but powerful structure helped visitors move beyond quick viewing and into deeper engagement with the themes and emotional resonance of the exhibition.

Several works from the exhibition served as focal points for slow looking, including Mechatronic Butterfly, Eclipse I, and Me enterraron boca arriba con la lengua fuera (Tlaltecuhtli). These works combine sculptural elements, video, and mythological imagery to create powerful visual narratives rooted in Indigenous cosmologies and contemporary cultural critique.

Mechatronic Butterfly. Photo courtesy of PEANA.
Eclipse I. Photo courtesy of PEANA.
Me enterraron boca arriba con la lengua fuera (Tlaltecuhtli). Photo courtesy of PEANA.

By pairing immersive artworks with guided reflection prompts, PEANA created an environment where visitors could slow down, contemplate difficult themes, and engage with the artworks in a personal and meaningful way.

Approximately 60 visitors participated in PEANA’s Slow Art Day experience, making a wonderful contribution to Mexico City’s citywide celebration.

We at Slow Art Day HQ are grateful to the team at PEANA and to Constanza Ontiveros Valdés, who organized the 2025 citywide event. And we are amazed that Ontiveros Valdés has already organized more than 35 galleries and museums for Slow Art Day 2026. We can’t wait!

— Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. If you have not yet registered your museum of gallery for Slow Art Day 2026, please do.