Tag Archives: In person

Open-Air Slow Art at Europos Parkas

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For their third Slow Art Day, Europos Parkas, or the “Open-air Museum of the Center of Europe”, held an in-person event hosted by Lina Karosienė of the European Park, and Karen Vanhercke and Justina Kaminskaite of Easel World, an agency focused on connecting people through art.

Located in the geographical center of Europe, near Vilnius, Lithuania, the European Park is an outdoor museum of modern and contemporary art that has been operating since 1991.

Location of Europos Parkas

Their Slow Art Day featured sculptural works by Marius Zavadskis and Adomas Jacovskis, seen below.

Photography courtesy of Gintare Užtupytė
Photography courtesy of Gintare Užtupytė
Marius Zavadskis, Carousal, Photography courtesy of Gytis Juodėnas
Adomas Jacovskis, Lying Head, Photography courtesy of Gytis Juodėnas
Photography courtesy of Gintare Užtupytė

We love sculpture parks and would have enjoyed slowly walking around and inside some of these sculptures.

Participants of the Slow Art Day seemed to love it too – and reported that slowing down changed their relationship to the park and to the art. “Earlier I just saw this park as the place full of objects, and now I see the artworks in a whole new light,” said one. Yes!

The team at European Park also produces year-round Slow Art programming and has created a special route through the park that encourages participants to look at art (and nature) slowly.

This beautiful video in Lithuanian (below) on their YouTube channel gives an idea of how they have done this.

It’s great to have this central European art park participating, especially during this difficult time for the region. We look forward to seeing what they come up with for their fourth Slow Art Day.

– Robin, Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

P.S. You can visit European Park’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.

Observation and Introspection at The Erie Art Museum

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For their third Slow Art Day, the Erie Art Museum partnered with the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Art Therapy Program to host a very interesting art therapy hybrid event celebrating the importance of observation, introspection, and emotionality when looking slowly at art.

Beatrice, photo courtesy of Averie Shaughnessy-Comfort

Each in-person visitor was given a journal in which to record their thoughts, observations, and ideas with the following attached label:


Through guided observation, visitors were asked to think about the following:

  • Spend a few moments being present with this piece.
    Pay attention to thoughts/emotions.
    As you gaze at the piece, notice your breath and your body.
  • Describe: What do you see?
  • Analyze: Think of 4 emotions or words that you associate with this piece.
  • Inquire: What does this piece tell you about yourself?
  • As you reflect on these photos, jot down a memory in this shared journal that comes to mind.

Out of Many, photo courtesy of Averie Shaughnessy-Comfort

For visitors who couldn’t make it to the museum, art therapy students at the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania held a Virtual Open Studio. An aspiring art therapist guided visitors through slow looking techniques.

At Slow Art Day HQ we love seeing the use of art therapy techniques for Slow Art Day and look forward to what the Erie Art Museum comes up with, perhaps again in partnership with Edinboro, for their fourth Slow Art Day

– Phyl, Robin, Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane

P.S. The Erie Art Museum can be found on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

AKMA Focuses on Indigenous Art for Their Second Slow Art Day

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For their second Slow Art Day, the Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art (AKMA) in St. Joseph, Missouri, focused on three works in their collection which highlight Indigenous artwork.

Slow Art Day participants Ethan and Rick looking at War Party Pictograph by Unknown Sioux Artist.

Hosts Jill Carlson, AKMA Marketing & Communications Manager, and Amber Wilcox, AKMA Event Manager, invited participants to look at three works of art for 10 minutes. Afterwards, they facilitated an open group discussion for 15 minutes. They then pointed out contextual information about the pieces and how they were acquired.

Paul Pletka (American, b. 1946), I Hear Everything, I Am the Crow, 1990, Acrylic on canvas
Fritz Scholder (American/Native American – La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, 1937 – 2005), Bicentennial Indian, 1975, Lithograph
Unknown Sioux Artist, War Party Pictograph, 1870 – 1900, Pigment on muslin

The event was featured on the museum’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds.

Facebook banner for the event

The staff enjoyed being able to engage and customize the experience based on what participants saw and said, reporting that this kind of individual immersion was “exactly what we all needed.”

Staff member Amber and visitor Ethan looking at artwork Bicentennial Indian by Fritz Scholder. This work is located on the newly installed “Salon Wall” at the entrance of the building.

We can’t wait to see what the Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art decides to do for Slow Art Day 2023!

– Phyl, Ashley, Johanna, Jessica Jane, and Robin

Slow Art Weekend with cARTie

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cARTie, Connecticut’s Non-Profit Mobile Art Museum, held events throughout what they called Slow Art Weekend 2022.

cARTie invited viewers at each of their stops to choose two works of art and spend at least 5 minutes with each. Their free event provided prompts, art materials, and all-important cushions.

The artwork featured was created by Connecticut high school students and an impressive selection follows:

Utah Raptor, drawn sketch and graphic illustration completed during Covid-19, 2021, by Mark
Enough, mixed media self-portrait during Covid-19, 2021, by Nate
Shouting Stars, acrylic painting completed during Covid-19, 2021, by Jason

The event was featured on cARTie’s Instagram page and advertised with the below flyer:

cARTie flyer

In addition to this Slow Art Weekend, cARTie provides year-round museum field trips to elementary schools that have limited access to the arts. *All* of their field trips include slow art time with rich, facilitated discussion.

We love this program and their mission to bring art to schools that otherwise don’t have it. We also are impressed by the design of their mobile Slow Art Weekend including their decision to feature some terrific student art.

We very much look forward to seeing what design they come up with for Slow Art Day 2023.

– Robin, Ashley, Phyl, Jessica Jane, and Johanna

P.S. We’ve also asked them to provide an electronic copy of their brochure so we can share that with educators and curators around the world.