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Glen Foerd Hosts 4th Slow Art Day

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For Slow Art Day 2024, Glen Foerd in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania invited participants to look slowly at four selected works of art, led by Executive Director Ross Mitchell.

Glen Foerd itself is a beautiful mansion and grounds on the banks of the Delaware River (learn more about the venue and its history on their website).

Their collection is an eclectic mix of works from the Renaissance to the twentieth century, where Italian masterpieces sit next to works by local Philadelphia artists. The beauty of slow-looking is that it brings deep observation and appreciation to all works of art no matter the provenance.

Exterior of Glen Foerd. Photo by Ashley Moran.

For the event, participants were invited to spend at least 10 minutes with each
of the following selected pieces:

  • Luigi Setanni (American, 1908–1984). Village and Calvary, c. mid-1930s. Oil on canvas
  • Thomas Sully (Attributed) (American, 1783 – 1872). Head of a Young woman in a Black Feathered Hat. Oil on Panel
  • Edith Emerson (American, 1888–1981). A Florentine Garden. Oil on canvas
  • Talia Eve Greene (American, 1976). Threadbare and Tarnished: Tales from a Gilded Age, 2017. Mixed Media
Luigi Setanni (American, 1908–1984). Village and Calvary, c. mid-1930s. Oil on canvas
Thomas Sully (Attributed) (American, 1783 – 1872). Head of a Young woman in a Black Feathered Hat. Oil on Panel
Edith Emerson (American, 1888–1981). A Florentine Garden. Oil on canvas
Talia Eve Greene (American, 1976). Threadbare and Tarnished: Tales from a Gilded Age, 2017. Mixed Media

Afterwards, Ross led the group through a discussion about each work.

Executive Director Ross Mitchell leading the discussion in front of three of the works.
Participants looking slowly at the selected works.
Participants looking slowly at the selected works.
Participant taking in the mixed media work in a separate room, by Talia Eve Greene – Threadbare and Tarnished: Tales from a Gilded Age.

Participants were also given a flyer with a series of prompts (download the flier).

Flyer of the eventDownload

Ashley Moran, volunteer at Slow Art Day HQ, visited Glen Foerd for their fourth Slow Art Day in 2024, and very much appreciated their selection of art and the lively discussion facilitated by Executive Director Ross Mitchell.

We are excited to see what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2025.

– Ashley, Jessica Jane, Johanna, and Phyl

P.S. Slow Art Day 2025 is coming up on April 5. If you have not done so, please register your museum, gallery, church, hospital, sculpture park or movie theater here: https://www.slowartday.com/be-a-host/

Italian Slow Art Club Visits Venice

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For their second Slow Art Day, Piero Consolati’s Slow Art Club, an independent group of slow looking art lovers in Italy, decided to focus on the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy.

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is packed with amazing 20th-century European and North American art, all thanks to Peggy Guggenheim‘s passion for collecting art and running galleries. The museum itself, once Peggy’s home, is in the stunning Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal.

Slow Art Club members engaging with art

For the event, the Slow Art Club decided to focus on five works that they had selected from the museum’s website (below you can see the images of three of them).

Willem de Kooning, Nude-Woman on the Beach, 1963, Oil on paper mounted on canvas
René Magritte, The Empire of Light, 1953-54, Oil on canvas

Yves Tanguy, The Sun in His Jewellery Box, 1937, Oil on canvas

After slow looking at the selected artworks, participants shared their thoughts and rated the pieces using a subjective scoring system. Participants were thrilled to see the wide range of emotions and aesthetic opinions that slow looking brings out in everyone engaging with art. They really enjoyed discussing what they had observed, but what they appreciated the most was museum visitors joining their discussions and wanting to share their thoughts too.

Over the past 18 months, Piero Consolati’s Slow Art Club has visited nine different museums practicing the art of slow looking, and he reports that their membership is steadily growing.

At Slow Art Day HQ, we celebrate Piero and his Slow Art Club. We love what they are doing not just on Slow Art Day but throughout the year. Amazing!

– Jessica Jane, Johanna, Ashley and Phyl

P.S. Slow Art Day 2025 is coming up on April 5. If you have not done so, please register your museum, gallery, church, sculpture park or movie theater here: https://www.slowartday.com/be-a-host/

Haliburton’s Rails End Gallery Hosts Again in 2024

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For their 4th Slow Art Day, held in 2024, Rails End Gallery and Arts Center in Haliburton, Canada, invited visitors to look slowly at art from their annual local artist exhibition and then vote for their favorite.

Voting station at the Slow Art Day event

Slow Looking Prompts

Wendy Wood, Not all dreams are happy ones, acrylic on canvas, 2024

David Douglas, Eurydice Hunting Antlers, found art assemblage, 2024

Gregor Gillespie, Unscheduled Departure, wood and stone, 2024 

Voting station at the Slow Art Day event

Slow Art Day coincided with the final day of their annual exhibition, making the Slow Art Day event their finale.

For Slow Art Day 2024, staff at the Gallery prepared cards with leading questions that visitors could reference while they looked.

A magnifying glass was also provided to visitors to take a (literal) close look at the art. Ahead of time, each artist had been asked to write a statement which was placed in a binder. Much to the surprise of the Gallery staff, one mother who took part in the event even read aloud from the binder for her children. 

Note that Rails End Gallery is a registered nonprofit with an active and arts-minded volunteer community.

Many large museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Art Gallery of Toronto (Canada’s largest museum) lead the Slow Art Day movement, but we also have a growing number of smaller locations like Rails End Gallery.

We look forward to seeing whatever Rails End Gallery and Arts Center come up with for Slow Art Day this year.

-Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. Stay up to date with events at Rails End Gallery and Arts Center through their Instagram

Slow Looking and Dance at the University of Navarra’s Museum

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For their second Slow Art Day, the University of Navarra’s Museum located in Pamplona, Spain invited visitors to look slowly at “De este paraíso” (“Of this paradise”), 1969, by Manolo Millares. Present at the event were also a professional dancer and a choreographer for a body expression session.

Visitors looking slowly at De este paraíso” (“Of this paradise”), by Manolo Millares. Photo by Manuel Castells.
De este paraíso” (“Of this paradise”), by Manolo Millares. Photo by Manuel Castells.

Ahead of Slow Art Day, the event was published to the Museum’s website, and an invitation newsletter was sent to subscribers.

The Slow Art Day session on April 13 took place from 5 to 7 p.m. It was free and there were 20 places available. Between 5 to 6 pm, all participants first looked slowly at the artwork together, followed by a discussion.

From 6 to 7 pm the group moved into another room for the body expression workshop. It was led by the dancer and choreographer Itsaso Álvarez Cano, and visitors were invited to respond to the artwork through dance (Unfortunately there are no pictures from this part of the event).

At Slow Art Day HQ we love the inclusion of the body expression session. We experience art with several of the senses, and moving our bodies seems like a perfect way to extend slow looking into an embodied response.

We can’t wait to see what the Museum at the University of Navarra comes up with for Slow Art Day this year.

-Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. Slow Art Day 2025 is coming up on April 5. If you have not done so, please register your museum, gallery, church, sculpture park or movie theater here: https://www.slowartday.com/be-a-host/

P.P.S. Stay up to date with the Museum at the University of Navarra through their Instagram or Facebook.

Bloomington Citywide Slow Art Day

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For their 5th Slow Art Day, Eaton Studio Gallery in Bloomington, IL., spearhead another citywide Slow Art Day in 2024, and as one of the *18* locations, invited participants to a sip-n-view followed by a conversation with artist Herb Eaton.

Exterior of the Studio Gallery

Participants slow looking and engaging with artist Herb Eaton

Herb Eaton with Slow Art Day participants

“Scribbler’s Memorial” Bronze & Stainless by Herb Eaton

Assorted artworks by Herb Eaton

Slow Art Day has become a prominent force across Bloomington during the past few years, and Pamela Eaton, who has spearheaded the citywide Slow Art Day, told us that the whole multi-venue celebration has been transformative for art in Bloomington.

“Collaborating with the other artists and galleries in our community for Slow Art Day has given our local art scene more visibility and we are now attracting more local and out of town visitors to our art locations.”

Pamela Eaton

The citywide event received a promotion grant to help cover the cost of printing promotional materials, and Eaton Gallery itself received an Illinois Tourism grant to promote the Art Trail on Route 66 for Slow Art Day.

To conclude the festivities, all Slow Art Day goers across the 18-venue city-wide Slow Art Day event were invited to a closing reception with a prize giveaway at The Hangar Art Company from 2 to 4 p.m. in Downtown Bloomington.

At Slow Art Day HQ we have been delighted to follow the events by Eaton Studio Gallery since they joined the Slow Art Day movement during the Covid19 Pandemic. From designing a drive-by exhibition in 2020 to now leading a city-wide phenomenon — we can’t wait to see how Slow Art Day grows in Bloomington during the years to come.

-Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

Mason City, IL, Hosts City-Wide Slow Art Day

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For their first city-wide Slow Art Day, the town of Mason City, Illinois lined up three venues to host artwork events for Slow Art Day: the public library, Reimagine Mason City Foundation, and the Arlee Theater. 

All three are local nonprofits who are actively involved in youth services and the arts. Even though Mason City is not large enough to need a stop light (with a population of 2500), they still make sure to celebrate local artists. This year’s featured works included pieces from local artists who have passed on, as well as works from four other Central Illinois artists with various ties to Mason City. Most of the entries were paintings, with one sculpture.

This year’s local artworks were: 

  • Unknown titled piece by Andrea Maxson
  • “Colorful Flowers” by the late Helen Kim
  • Two untitled pieces by Anastasia Neumann
  • “Protection” and “Old Warrior” by Rick Kehl
  • Unknown titled piece by the late Mary Price
  • Unknown titled piece by the late Mary K. Mangold
  • “Arcturian Landscape Study in Aluminum” by Paige Price 
Untitled work by Anastasia Neumann
Untitled work by Anastasia Neumann
Untitled work by Andrea Maxson
“Colorful Flowers” by Helen Kim
Untitled work by Mary K. Mangold
Untitled work by Mary Price
“Arcturian Landscape Study in Aluminum” by Paige Price
“Old Warrior” by Rick Kehl
“Protection” by Rick Kehl

On Slow Art Day, the artworks were divided across the three selected locations, and tips for looking at art slowly were provided at each venue.

  • The public library showed their pieces in a special exhibit.
  • The Reimagine Mason City Foundation hosted a pop-up coffee shop where their works were displayed. 
  • And lastly, the Arlee Theater projected digital versions of all of the works onto the big screen prior to the evening’s show (we have seen several theaters participate over the years, and love this type of venue for slow looking!).

At Slow Art Day HQ, we love to see citywide events – and especially appreciate smaller towns who come together to celebrate the day. We also hope to see more movie theaters join the Slow Art Day movement.

We look forward to seeing what Mason City comes up with for Slow Art Day in 2025.

-Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl


P.S. Slow Art Day 2025 is coming up on April 5. If you have not done so, please register your museum, gallery, church, sculpture park or movie theater here: https://www.slowartday.com/be-a-host/

Mindful Slow Looking at The Foster Museum

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For their first Slow Art Day, The Foster Museum in Palo Alto, California, invited participants to engage with works by Tony Foster, a plein air watercolor artist who creates series of paintings he calls “Journeys.” Per their website, “Foster’s unique art form is a series of paintings with accompanying notes and symbolic objects or “souvenirs” made with the intention to reveal wild places or explore a specific idea or theme.”

The free Slow Art Day event was advertised in the museum lobby and in their newsletter for a few months before the event on Saturday, April 13. The event started with an introduction by Anne Baxter, co-Director of The Foster Museum, and was followed by an hour of mindful slow looking at 5 of Tony’s artworks. The event ended with a closing discussion and light refreshments.

Slow Art Day participants engaging with artworks by Tony Foster (Ph: Anne Baxter).

Anne told us that she learned about Slow Art Day through Alan Petersen, Fine Art Curator at the Museum of Northern Arizona, a longtime Slow Art Day museum. Last year when Alan was in California teaching a drawing workshop and researching the whereabouts of Gunnar Widforss’ paintings in the area, Anne asked him for programming ideas that seem like a great fit with The Foster Museum. Alan immediately suggested Slow Art Day. Love that. Word-of-mouth is how we have built this movement.

And we are happy to welcome The Foster Museum to Slow Art Day and look forward to what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2025.

– Jessica Jane, Johanna, Ashley and Phyl

P.S. Slow Art Day 2025 is coming up on April 5. If you have not done so, please register your museum, gallery, church, sculpture park here: https://www.slowartday.com/be-a-host/

P.S.S. You can follow The Foster Museum on Instagram, FB and X.


McMichael Canadian Art Collection Hosts First Slow Art Day

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For their first Slow Art Day, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Canada, organized a slow looking and sketching event.

Visitors were encouraged to walk around the museum and look slowly at their chosen works of art. Guided tours were canceled for Slow Art Day in order for participants to experience the art slowly and on their own terms – excellent!

McMichael Collection Slow Art Day image from their social media post, advertising the event.

Slow looking participants listening to the introduction in the Founder’s Lounge.

To introduce the concept of slow looking, visitors were also invited to a short explanation followed by a 15 minute self-guided sketching activity in front of an artwork of their choice. The sessions were held in the Founder’s Lounge at the top of the hour during three time-slots. All sketching materials were provided, and visitors were given stools to place in front of their chosen artwork.

Images of participants slow looking and sketching were shared to social media.

Participant sketching in front of their chosen artwork.

We love this simple, creative design and encourage other museums to consider copying some of what the McMichael Canadian Art Collection did for 2024.

And we look forward to what they come up with for April 2025!

-Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. Slow Art Day 2025 is coming up on April 5. If you have not done so, please register your museum, gallery, church, sculpture park here: https://www.slowartday.com/be-a-host/

P.P.S. Stay up to date with other events at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection through their Instagram and Facebook.

The Red Awl Hosts First Slow Art Day

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For their first Slow Art Day, The Red Awl in Clarkdale, Arizona, featured four tiny ink-on-paper drawings by Karen McClanahan. The drawings were chosen because they align with the mission of The Red Awl to create, exhibit, and promote handcrafted, quirky, and often humorous artists’ books and fine art multiples.

The Red Awl is an artist-run project space located in a 100+ year old building in the small town of Clarkdale, Arizona. The building contains studios, a workshop, a copy room with a vintage Xerox machine, and a 242 square foot office lobby that serves as a project and exhibition space.

On Slow Art Day 2024, visitors were welcomed and asked to sign an antique ledger guestbook, then they were invited to read a short statement describing Slow Art Day along with an introduction to the drawings on view. Since this was the first time The Red Awl hosted Slow Art Day, they opted for a casual event instead of a formal program. The artist, Karen McClanahan, was on site to engage in discussions and answer questions throughout the day. An extra detail is that all visitors were asked to put away their cell phones and not take any photos or videos during their visit. This allowed them to stay present with the drawings and the artist.

Antique ledger.

 Visitor viewing closely.

Slow Art Day participants were encouraged to look at the tiny drawings – first with an unaided eye and then with a magnifying glass. This allowed them to see the details up close at a similar magnification as the artist had drawn them. The drawings by McClanahan are small – measuring at 1 in. by 1-5/8 in., or slightly larger than a postage stamp. The size of the works offer a unique way to look slowly, as the intimate scale of the artwork requires a close view, making slowing down imperative.

McClanahan meticulously drew the tiny abstract compositions using a Bic ballpoint pen, a Micron pen, a straight edge ruler, a steady hand, and high-powered reading glasses.

Magnifying glasses for literal close looking.

Ink vs. Ink (Original drawing)

Eddy (Original drawing)

After viewing the works, visitors moved on to view a portfolio with the additional original book “plates” and the finished book titled “Ink vs. Ink.” Seeing the larger context of the four works showed visitors how the artist achieved a conceptual book narrative using pure abstraction.

Informal discussions focused on the various allusions to landscape, the human body, architecture, nature, and fabric. There were many questions regarding the drawing technique itself and how the miniature drawings were created using a humble Bic ballpoint pen.

At Slow Art Day HQ, we love this alignment of the small drawings with the mission of the exhibition space (and the magnifying glasses are cool).

We look forward to whatever The Red Awl comes up with for their second Slow Art Day in 2025.

-Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. Slow Art Day 2025 is coming up on April 5. If you have not done so, please register your museum, gallery, church, sculpture park here: https://www.slowartday.com/be-a-host/

Citywide Slow Art Day in France

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This year, Argentan, France, home of two great 20th century artists, Fernand Léger and André Mare, will be hosting three Slow Art Day events on April 5, 2025.

The three venues participating include the Musée Fernand Léger André Mare, the library network Réseau des Médiathèques Terres d’Argentan, and the digital museum Micro-Folie Mobile.

Citywide events have been an increasingly important part of Slow Art Day.

Small towns like Bloomington, Illinois, and larger cities like Antwerp, Belgium and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania have been hosting multi-venue Slow Art Day celebrations.

We are glad to welcome this Norman town to our movement focused on helping people learn how to slow down, look at, and love art.

– Phyl

P.S. Slow Art Day 2025 is coming up on April 5. Register your museum, gallery, church, sculpture park here: https://www.slowartday.com/be-a-host/

Fernand Léger, Les Plongeurs (The Divers), 1943. Courtesy of President and Fellows of Harvard College © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2016