Tag Archives: canada

Eighth Slow Art Day at Habitat for the Arts, Jasper, Alberta, Canada

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On April 5, 2025, Habitat for the Arts in Jasper, Alberta, Canada hosted another meaningful Slow Art Day at the Jasper Museum, continuing a tradition they have explored over eight years. Each year is different, and this year’s gathering centered on heritage photography and the way art captures and stills time.

The focus of the day was a photography exhibition featuring the work of Harry Rowed — images of people and places in Jasper National Park from the 1940s through the 1960s. The black-and-white still images offered participants a window into earlier generations, inviting them to consider memory, place, and continuity.

The morning program began with a dedicated half hour of slow viewing inside the exhibition. Participants were given a small piece of paper to carry with them as they moved through the gallery. They were invited to reflect on a simple but powerful question: Which image captured you? Which image made you stop and truly spend time with it?

After the quiet viewing period, guests gathered for tea and cookies — and even chocolate — creating a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere for conversation. The structure of the hour allowed for both solitude and shared reflection. The museum space, with comfortable seating placed among the historic images, encouraged visitors to linger.

Photography proved to be an especially fitting medium for Slow Art Day. As Habitat for the Arts shared, still images are perfect for capturing a piece of time. The photographs of Harry Rowed moved beyond documentation into storytelling. They carried gestures, landscapes, family groupings, and expressions that bridged generations.

Two reflections stood out from the discussion.

One participant shared, “It struck me witnessing the ties of family and how the love of nature and exploration crossed generations.”

Another reflected, “There is something so exact and familiar in spending time with the person in the photo. You feel almost as if you might know them, or have met them somewhere before despite the division of time.”

According to the Habitat for the Arts team, these responses captured the essence of the day.

We are grateful to Habitat for the Arts for continuing to celebrate Slow Art Day in Jasper and look forward to what they come up with for 2026.

– Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

Test Kitchen at the Gardiner Museum, Toronto

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On April 5, 2025, the Gardiner Museum in Toronto, Ontario participated in Slow Art Day for the sixth time — this year embedding the experience within their major exhibition Test Kitchen: A Museum Project.

As the museum underwent a full-scale reimagining of its ground floor and reinstallation of significant parts of its collection, Test Kitchen created a space of experimentation, collaboration, and participation. The exhibition functioned as part exhibition, part workshop, and part ideas generator. Visitors were encouraged not just to observe, but to question, respond, and contribute.

For Slow Art Day, participants were invited to closely engage with four collection-based “episodes” within the gallery:

  • Connected Worlds
  • Modern and Contemporary Ceramics
  • Ancestral Abiyalas
  • Indigenous Immemorial

Featured works included:

  • Two-handled vase with palmette motif, Deruta, Umbria, Italy, c.1500–1550
  • Ewer, silver mounts with German coin dated 1626, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, China, 1635–1640
  • Posset pot with chinoiseries, possibly Brislington, Bristol, England, 1687
  • An Odyssey, Artist: Pamela Cevallos (Ecuadorian, born 1984), Collaborator: Guillermo Quijije, Quito, Ecuador, 2022
Two-handled vase with palmette motif, Deruta, Umbria, Italy, c.1500–1550
Ewer, silver mounts with German coin dated 1626, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, China, 1635–1640
Posset pot with chinoiseries, possibly Brislington, Bristol, England, 1687
An Odyssey, Artist: Pamela Cevallos (Ecuadorian, born 1984), Collaborator: Guillermo Quijije, Quito, Ecuador, 2022

Participants navigated the exhibition using a self-guided Slow Art Day activity sheet created specifically for the program (below). The prompts encouraged close looking, sketching, reflective writing, and imaginative engagement.

Slow Art Day_Activity Sheet_2025 FINALDownload

In Connected Worlds, visitors searched for ceramics that visually embodied global exchange: an English pot with Chinese dragons, a Chinese jug with Dutch designs and a German coin, and an Italian vase made using a technique from Iraq. In Indigenous Immemorial, participants compared two works by John Kurok, reflecting on form, design, colour, and emotional tone.

In Modern and Contemporary Ceramics, guests identified works connected to myth or magic, considering how contemporary artists draw from narrative and symbolism.

In Ancestral Abiyalas, participants looked closely at An Odyssey, imagining themselves within its scenes — listening for sounds, sensing scents, and noticing what surprised them.

Exhibition photo credit Toni Hafkenscheid.
Exhibition photo credit Toni Hafkenscheid.
Exhibition photo credit Toni Hafkenscheid.
Exhibition photo credit Toni Hafkenscheid.

After completing their exploration, visitors were invited to participate in the exhibition’s interactive “Befriend an Object” activity, further reinforcing the exhibition’s collaborative spirit.

We are grateful to Sofia Flores-Ledesma and the team at the Gardiner Museum for continuing to champion Slow Art Day and for integrating it so thoughtfully into their institutional transformation, and look forward to seeing what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2026.

– Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. View them on Instagram and Facebook

National Gallery of Canada: Deepening Reflection Through Guided Looking

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For their third Slow Art Day, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa invited participants to join their event onsite or from home through a guided slow-looking video.

Participants during guided slow looking at the National Gallery of Canada. Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Canada.

Educator Andrea Gumpert reported that in-person participants were led in both English and French through 2 hour-long sessions by Interpreter-Guides Morel McMaster and Juliana Abramo. Each session began with a brief warm-up and an introduction to the purpose of slowing down with art. Participants then spent five minutes seated with an artwork of their choosing, followed by a group discussion. They repeated the exercise with a different artwork in another gallery, this time extending the observation period.

One of the core philosophies of Slow Art Day is that if you spend a few minutes with a piece of art, then even if you “don’t like it”, you still build a relationship with it and that often means you go deeper than “like or don’t like.”

This experience is repeated thousands of times around the world and was certainly present in Ottawa for Slow Art Day.

In fact, during the first exercise, one participant shared with Juliana that they “didn’t like the painting they chose at first but ended up really appreciating it towards the end,” highlighting how slow looking can shift perception.

Practically speaking, all visitors received a bilingual handout encouraging them to “Slow Down. Reflect. Discover. Engage.”

Slow_Art_Day_handout_2025_8.5 x 11_PRINTDownload

Below is the video that viewers participating at home could experience:

The National Gallery also did a good job attracting media attention for their Slow Art Day.

CBC Radio’s All in a Day with Alan Neal aired a segment “Take your time with the slooooooow art tour”. CBC Television likewise featured the event in a piece titled The National Gallery wants you to slow down and appreciate art, in which reporter Sandra Abma experienced a slow art tour with educator Andrea Gumpert.

Based on positive visitor feedback from last year’s Slow Art Day, the Gallery has also introduced monthly Guided Slow Looking Sundays, held on the last Sunday of each month. This warms out heart given that one of our core objectives is to inspire year-round programming.

We extend our appreciation to Andrea Gumpert, Morel McMaster, Juliana Abramo, and the entire National Gallery team for their ongoing commitment to slow-looking experiences. We look forward to their continued participation next year.

– Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. Explore the National Gallery of Canada’s programs on Facebook and Instagram.

Artist Talk and “Sweet and Sour Memories” at Art Gallery of St. Albert

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On April 5, 2025, the Art Gallery of St. Albert in Alberta, Canada, welcomed a large audience (a small portion of which is shown below) for its Slow Art Day event, which featured an inspiring artist talk by Alberta’s Artist in Residence, Samantha Williams-Chapelsky alongside the exploration of a moving exhibition by Edmonton-based artist Edith Chu.

To start, artist Samantha Williams-Chapelsky shared her journey as a professional artist, offering insights into her creative process, the challenges she’s overcome, and her experiences representing Alberta’s vibrant arts community. She also reflected on the future of visual arts, addressing current trends, emerging opportunities, and the evolving role of artists in Alberta and beyond.

Artist Samantha Williams-Chapelsky and participants during the artist talk. Photo courtesy of Art Gallery of St. Albert.

Visitors were also invited to experience the exhibition “Sweet and Sour Memories” by Edmonton artist Edith Chu. In this exhibition, Chu looks back on her life growing up in her family’s restaurant Szechuen Cuisine. Her memories of this time form the foundation of her experience as a first-generation Canadian. Delicate watercolor paintings of restaurant life capture the day-to-day, family photos are drawn onto replica guest cheques, and Edith’s memories are captured in sculptural takeout boxes and narrative photographs.

The event also included a range of interactive activities: visitors created their own memorable buildings on envelopes in the Art Nook, completed a gallery-wide iSpy challenge, and engaged with an activity book designed for “Sweet and Sour Memories,” which encouraged participants to design their own takeout noodle boxes. Free refreshments added to the warm, welcoming atmosphere.

We at Slow Art Day HQ love to see such multifaceted events, and look forward to seeing what Leah Louden and the whole team at Art Gallery of St. Albert create for Slow Art Day 2026.

– Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. Stay connected with the Art Gallery of St. Albert on Facebook and Instagram.

RiverBrink Art Museum Deepens Reflection Through Slow Looking

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For their third Slow Art Day, RiverBrink Art Museum, located in Queenston, Ontario (Canada), invited visitors to slow down and deepen their connection with three selected artworks from their permanent collection. Guests were welcomed into the gallery and encouraged to sit quietly with each artwork, observing closely for five minutes before joining a facilitated group discussion led by Programming and Curatorial Assistant Moyu Chen.

Featured works included:

  • “Effet de Pluie, Pont Aven” by Gustave Loiseau (n.d.)
  • “Portrait of Frances Davis” by Francis Cotes (c. 1760)
  • “Settlers’ Cabin in the Foothills [Early Canadian Settler]” by Cornelius Krieghoff (1859)

“Effet de Pluie, Pont Aven” by Gustave Loiseau. (Photo courtesy of RiverBrink Art Museum)
“Portrait of Frances Davis” by Francis Cotes. (Photo courtesy of RiverBrink Art Museum)
“Settlers’ Cabin in the Foothills [Early Canadian Settler]” by Cornelius Krieghoff. (Photo courtesy of RiverBrink Art Museum)

Participants reflected on visual details, brushwork, subject matter, and emotional tone. The museum provided extra seating to ensure an accessible and comfortable environment for slow looking, and a helpful handout (featured below) with observation questions created by the museum team.

Slow Art Day April 5Download
Gallery setup for Slow Art Day at RiverBrink Art Museum, featuring “Effet de Pluie, Pont Aven” by Gustave Loiseau.* (Photo courtesy of RiverBrink Art Museum)

We at Slow Art Day HQ love the art, the simple design and the ongoing partnership with RiverBrink. We look forward to what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2026.

– Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. You can follow RiverBrink Art Museum on Instagram: @riverbrinkartmuseum

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 National Gallery of Canada Hosts Second Slow Art Day

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On April 13th, Andrea Gumpert, Gallery Educator, and Marie-Pierre Adam, Interpreter-Guide, hosted the National Gallery of Canada’s second Slow Art Day, and reported that it was a resounding success.

The Gallery provided three options for participation this year:
– an in-person guided group experience
– slow-looking “on your own” with provided handout (shown below)
– slow-looking from home using a guided video

And participants were given the option to participate in either French-language or English-language sessions.

For the in-person guided event, hosts Andrea Gumpert and Marie-Pierre Adam greeted participants next to the below Slow Art Day signage in their Great Hall.

The in-person event was divided in two parts (that each of the French and English speaking groups followed).

For Part 1, Andrea led the 13 participants in the English-speaking group to the Indigenous and Canadian later galleries, and Marie-Pierre led the 11 French-speaking participants to the European baroque galleries. They each then invited their participants to select one artwork and spend 10 minutes looking slowly at it. After the 10 minutes, they regrouped and discussed the experience.

Across the two groups, participants commented on how much more they noticed about the art when they gave themselves permission to really spend time with it – a seemingly obvious but nonetheless revelatory experience. Participants also said the group setting was helpful, particularly for the younger attendees (11 and 14 years old.) People also told stories about the works, and contemplated the technical skills behind the art.

For Part II, the English-speaking group moved to the Contemporary galleries while the French-speaking group moved to the later modern galleries. This time Andrea and Marie-Pierre suggested three optional challenges:
1. Spend 15 minutes with one artwork
2. Select a work that you didn’t have an immediate affinity for
3. Draw or write while spending time with the work

They then had a second discussion with each group.

The French-speaking group in the modern gallery appreciated the chance to express themselves on paper; either by drawing or writing their ideas. Some participants expressed that the second round of slow looking was easier – that slow looking felt like a muscle that needs to be warmed up first. One participant who chose a work they would not have normally looked at shared that their slow looking revealed parts of the painting they thought were wonderful after all – and raised many questions around the choices made by the artist at that time in their career.

At the end of the day, participants provided feedback.

Here are two quotes, one from the English-speaking group and one from the French-speaking group (i.e., these are not translations from one to the other – but separate quotes):

The slow art English session was a welcome new approach for me to viewing art. Our guide was
informed and fun, and she explained the process well. I am sure I will use this approach on my own
sometimes at art galleries, and elsewhere. Thank you for offering it — it is a good middle place
between a tour with a guide and a hands-on activity.

Bonjour à toute l’équipe, je profite de ce courriel pour vous remercier pour l’organisation de
l’activité Slow Art de samedi dernier. J’ai une la chance de participer à cet événement en présence
de Marie-Pierre et du groupe pour les personnes francophones. J’ai fait plusieurs apprentissages
dans un environnement paisible et vraiment intéressant ! Merci pour votre dévouement à rendre
l’art accessible et respectueux ! Je vous en suis très reconnaissante ! Je souhaite une longue vie
au Musée des Beaux-Arts du Canada !

We are glad to say that The Gallery is now planning regular slow looking sessions throughout the year (we love that!) as well as participating in Slow Art Day 2025.

– Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

Accessible Slow Art Day Hosted by the Art Gallery at Evergreen

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For their third Slow Art Day, the Art Gallery at Evergreen in Coquitlam, Canada, invited visitors to look slowly at two artworks from their touring exhibition “Paths” for 5-10 minutes each:

Both artworks were part of the 2024 Capture Photography Festival Selected Exhibition Program.

Silas Ng, “Music in My Eyes,” 2020, site-specific installation at the Art Gallery at Evergreen, Evergreen Cultural Centre, 2024. Photo: Rachel Topham Photography. @racheltophamphotography
Still from a video featuring an interior pan of Sarah Anne Johnson’s “Woodland” across several window panels at the Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain Station. Woodland was presented at Evergreen in partnership with TransLink.

On the day, all visitors were invited to look slowly at one or both artworks using the below provided prompts. We encourage museum educators to take a look.

SLOW_ART_DAY_PROMPTSDownload

The activity was self-directed, but after doing individual slow looking, participants could discuss their experience with gallery assistant Kim Grewal, or were encouraged to share their reflections on Instagram. Before leaving, they were also invited to continue the slow looking experience by spending time with some of Evergreen’s public artworks, located only steps away from the gallery.

The exhibition “Paths” featured artwork by twenty-two Canadian artists, two of which were placed in focus for the Slow Art Day event. We’ll note that one of the featured artists, Silas Ng, is deaf, and explores this in his work. In fact, his featured work “Music in My Eyes,” 2020, encourages slow lookers to think creatively as they spend time with the art.

We look forward to seeing what Art Gallery Evergreen comes up with for Slow Art Day 2025.

– Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. Stay up to date with events at Art Gallery Evergreen through their Instagram or Facebook.

Cline House Gallery Hosts First Slow Art Day

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For their first Slow Art Day, Cline House Gallery in Cornwall, (Ontario) Canada, invited the public to look slowly at art by Giuseppe Di Leo, who was in attendance at the event.

Slow Art Day poster.

On arrival, participants were given a handout with slow looking prompts that first instructed them not to read anything about the artworks before looking at them. We at Slow Art Day HQ love this instruction – and have even seen hosts hide all artwork info – because it really encourages the viewer to slow down and build their own personal relationship with the art first.

Participant looking slowly at art by Giuseppe Di Leo during the Slow Art Day event.
Participants looking slowly at art by Giuseppe Di Leo during the Slow Art Day event.

Participants were instructed to find any work in the Gallery that they felt drawn to and look at it slowly, using the below prompts to guide them through their experience.

QUEST – TO SLOWLY LOOK AT ARTDownload

After the individual slow looking, gallery educator Sean George and the featured artist, Giuseppe Di Leo, led a discussion with participants about their slow looking experience. At Slow Art Day HQ, we love to see artists participating directly in the slow looking event, and believe it is just as rich of a discovery for them to see how their works are perceived by the viewers as it is for the slow lookers.

Artist Giuseppe Di Leo with one of his artworks.

Visual Arts Coordinator, Emily MacLeod, reported that the event was a success and the Gallery is already looking forward to hosting their second Slow Art Day in 2025. We are excited to see what they come up with next.

-Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. Stay up to date with events at Cline House Gallery through Instagram.

Locals Sketch for Slow Art Day at the Art Gallery of St. Albert

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For their 2024 Slow Art Day (their fifth!), the Art Gallery of St. Albert in Canada invited local sketch groups to visit the exhibition Threading Through Time by Jamaican visual artist Raneece Buddan. Director Leah Louden told us they chose to focus on Raneece’s exhibition, in part because her work “rewards the viewer with lots of fine details you only discover through careful observation.”

Slow Art Day participants sketching works by Raneece Buddan, Threading Through Time (exhibition view), 2024. Photo by Brenda Lakeman.
Slow Art Day participants sketching works by Raneece Buddan, Threading Through Time (exhibition view), 2024. Photo by Brenda Lakeman.

This year, the museum decided to partner with a series of local organizations who could bring in “sketch groups” including the Edmonton Art Club, The Federation of Canadian Artists Edmonton Chapter, Sketch Around YEG Club, and the St. Albert Visual Arts Council Guilds.

Upon arrival, the groups were offered both free refreshments and free drawing materials. In total, over 30 visitors joined. Some participants stayed for an extended period of time, spending 2 hours drawing and slowly appreciating the artwork.

All visitors were encouraged to choose a single artwork in the show, and then look and sketch slowly. The museum also provided prompts (see below – and feel free to copy!).

slowartdayDownload

Staff were on hand to answer questions and more in-depth information about the art and about the process of slow looking/sketching.

We can’t wait to see what the Art Gallery of St. Albert comes up with for their next Slow Art Day event in 2025.

-Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. Stay up to date with events at the Art Gallery of St. Albert via their social media: @ArtGalleryofStAlbert on Facebook and Instagram