To celebrate Slow Art Day 2021 when museums were locked down in England, artist Jo Essen, based in Birmingham, UK, organized a slow looking bike ride to Sarehole Mill.
The historical mill, today a museum and bakery, is well-known for its connection with J. R. R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He once lived across the road from the Mill, and it inspired his writings about Middle-earth.
Picture from the surroundings of Birmingham. Photo credits: Jo Essen.
Picture of nature. Photo credits: Jo Essen.
Essen shared an online video from the bike ride, and encouraged others in the pandemic lockdown to get out and do some slow looking. “It was wonderful to be involved in slow looking even when we were not able to visit museums,” said Jo Essen.
So, while the British Museum, Tate Modern, the Norton Simon Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Smithsonian, and many other large museums ran virtual (or in-person events), and while a number of smaller museums and galleries also ran Slow Art Day sessions, 2021 also included Jo Essen and her family looking slowly at nature and architecture.
Love that!
This report is a fitting final post for 2021, especially as we and the world struggle through yet another wave of the coronavirus. (Note: you can read all of our 2021 published reports, or wait for our 2021 annual report to be published in February of 2022.)
We hope you have a wonderful new year wherever you are in the world. And perhaps take some inspiration from Essen and go out and do some slow looking at nature, architecture, public art, or in museums and galleries, if they are open in your area.
Stay safe and healthy and get ready for yet another year of building the slow looking movement.
For their first Slow Art Day, the gallery ARTualize in Singapore, Singapore, organized a Mindfulness with Paintings session, encouraging participants to combine mindfulness with slow looking.
On the 10th of April, ARTualize opened their two-hour session by introducing participants to some mindfulness techniques. Participants were then invited to look slowly and mindfully at selected paintings, including Low Hai Hong’s 海天一色 (literally: Sky and Sea). This was followed by discussion.
Low Hai Hong. 海天一色 (literally: Sky and Sea), from the collection Passion in Living – Paintings of Indonesia. Courtesy of ARTualize.
The gallery also hosts regular ‘Mindfulness with paintings’ sessions to get more people to discover the joy of looking at art. Sessions are held every Sunday from 2 to 4 pm.
Paintings on display in the gallery are also available for rent to give people the opportunity to experience the art in their own homes. Exhibited works are changed every two months. Click here to learn more.
At Slow Art Day HQ, our mission since 2010 has been to build a slow looking and mindfulness movement around the world. As a result, one of our goals has been to use the annual event to inspire museums and galleries to host regular slow looking sessions throughout the year.
We are happy to see that ARTualize are both participants and leaders in this movement and look forward to whatever they come up with for Slow Art Day 2022.
Johanna, Jessica, Ashley, and Phyl
P.S. If you would like to follow ARTualize’s updates, you can follow them on their Facebook page.
For their first Slow Art Day, Vänersborg Art Gallery, in Vänersborg, Sweden, organized an in-person event featuring three artworks by artist Bo Ljung from the exhibition Lysande Utsikter (“Brilliant Views” or “Great Expectations”).
On April 10, 2021, participants joined this Gallery in southern Sweden after hours to participate in the slow looking event. They looked at each of the three artworks for 10 minutes, and then had an open and stimulating discussion about their experience. Food and water were provided. You can view the artworks from Bo Ljung’s exhibition here.
Slow looking at one of the artworks
More slow looking
Reflecting on the event, Kajsa Frostensson, Gallery Manager, said they learned a lot from their pilot Slow Art Day and look forward to running more slow looking events in the future.
The openness in mind and thought that is required [during slow looking] is something I think we need training in, and we as an organizer also need training in administrating the talking afterwards. Nevertheless, it was a good experience and I liked it very much. So did our participants.
Kajsa Frostensson
While Kajsa and her team may be new at this, they have already contributed one good idea to the global Slow Art Day movement: host slow looking sessions after regular hours. Other galleries and smaller museums might want to borrow this idea. We imagine that an after hours session helps to support slow looking in this fast-paced world of ours.
We look forward to whatever other innovations Vänersborg Art Gallery comes up with for their second Slow Art Day in 2022.
Johanna, Ashley, Jessica, and Phyl
P.S. You can also follow the Gallery’s Facebook page for more updates.
For their 5th Slow Art Day, the Artichoke Gallery at MelonRouge Eatery in Magaliesburg, South Africa, organized an event featuring different art forms by three South African artists:
Handmade Damascus art knives by Bertie Rietveld
An oil painting by Evarné van Niekerk
A pen-drawn labyrinth artwork by Lorraine Reister
Visitors were given a “Meet the Maker” bio of each artist, and were guided around the artworks by facalitator Hanolet Uys, himself an artist.
As part of the event, visitors were also given two blank canvases, acrylic paint, oil, and black permanent markers and were invite to create their own art.
Facilitator Hanolet Uys explaing Bertie’s process of making daggers.
Participant engaging with acrylic paint, oil, and black permanent markers.
Below are images of the featured artworks.
Bertie Rietveld. Apollo.
Asection of the painting by Evarné van Niekerk. Oil on canvas.
Lorraine Reister. Wie is ek.
Participants engaging in discussion
Following the tour, participants discussed the artworks and artists around a table outside.
In their discussion of the art, participants reflected around the changed meaning of art in the context of a pandemic:
” The Pandemic made me look at art as a bare necessity and not as a ‘”luxury” as before”
Participant’s quote
“I started an art piece before the pandemic – and the outcome after a year was totally different than what I anticipated beforehand”
Participant’s quote
The Gallery, which has always been good at creating video artefacts of their event, produced a short TikTok video this year. We recommend that museum educators and other Slow Art Day designers watch it below:
TikTok video summarizing the Artichoke Gallery’s Slow Art Day.
We at Slow Art Day HQ are fans of the Artichoke Gallery and love the effort they put into designing their event every year.
We very much look forward to whatever they come up with in 2022.
Johanna, Jessica, Ashley, and Phyl
P.S. You can follow Artichoke Gallery’s updates on Facebook
For their second Slow Art Day, The Eaton Gallery in Bloomington, Illinois, organized a “drive-by” exhibit in the Gallery’s window display, inviting the local community to slow down and enjoy floral still-life paintings by local artist Herb Eaton.
Herb Eaton, Still Life with Grace. 3ft x 4 ft, oil on canvas.
Herb Eaton, Single Petal of a Rose. 24×18 oil on canvas board.
Pamela Eaton, Gallery owner, aims to make art more accessible in a relaxed setting, and provide a space to support local artists.
From the 10th to the 30th of April, the Gallery created a drive-by window exhibit for viewers to pause and look slowly at a selection of artworks. They were then invited to share their thoughts and reflections in a variety of ways: write a note and drop it in the Gallery’s mail slot, send an email, or leave a post on the Gallery’s Facebook page.
The exhibit got great press coverage from local news outlets, both last year and this year. An article by week.com includes a video interview with Pamela Eaton, where she explains that Slow Art Day is an opportunity for people to simultaneously develop an appreciation for art and local artists.
“We are so busy hurrying around. When you slow down and pay attention to your space and place you start to see more value in them. That’s probably one of the values of COVID, it’s slowed us all down.”
Pamela Eaton
Eaton Gallery’s press release
The Eaton Gallery received a lot of great feedback from participants:
Kind of makes you think of the beauty of life and the changes through the years. The petals are beautiful but life happens and the years change us, but the beauty still remains in our memories.
Viewer’s quote
I drove by today, slowly passing by in my car to admire A Single Petal of a Rose which I love more and more each time I see it.
Viewer’s quote
Walked by Saturday to enjoy the paintings in your window… peaceful and full of color.
Viewer’s quote
Looking forward to coming inside and seeing more of the art and the space.
Viewer’s quote
Beautiful work.
Viewer’s quote
Brightened up my walk downtown.
Viewer’s quote
The Eaton Gallery’s creative drive-by solution to sharing art with the local community during Covid19 has helped viewers and participants slow down and feel connected. At Slow Art Day HQ, we agree with Pamala Eaton: “When you slow down and pay attention to your space and place you start to see more value in them.”
We look forward to Eaton Gallery’s Slow Art Day in 2022.
The Three Sisters Tearoom, in Campbellsville, Tennessee, hosted their first official Slow Art Day – and due to popular demand, they decided to hold slow looking sessions throughout the whole month of April.
The Stowe family, who run the tearoom, designed their Slow Art Month around selected paintings that featured tea as a centerpiece.
Artworks included:
One of the Family. Fredrick George Cotman
Beauty and the Beast. Jessi Wilcox Smith.
One of the Family. Fredrick George Cotman
Beauty and the Beast. Jessi Wilcox Smith.
During the sessions, visitors looked slowly at the selected works while sipping tea and listening to live music. This was followed by an engaging discussion where participants shared their observations.
The paintings selected, along with many others, are included in two slow-art-inspired books: Infused: Tea Time in Fine Art, and The Hide and Seek Gallery: A Child’s I Spy in Fine Art. Both books are written by Jennifer Stowe, slow art author, tearoom owner, and mother to the three sisters that the tearoom is named after.
Participants engaging with art.
Participants engaging with fine art while sipping tea.
The events were well received by participants of all ages. Julia Stowe said that she and her sisters are excited to continue hosting multi-generational slow art sessions throughout the year.
“Guests of all ages enjoyed this set-apart time to consider art, and the unique and intriguing observations from art-observers of various generations were especially delightful.”
Julia Stowe
At Slow Art Day HQ, we love that the Stowe family have adopted multi-generational slow looking sessions throughout the year.
We have been thinking about creating an annual tour to visit Slow Art Day museums and galleries all over the world. Assuming we make that happen, we hope to visit Campbell, TN and try their tea and slow art infusions.
In the meantime, we look forward to what the Three Sisters Tearoom comes up with for Slow Art Month in 2022.
Johanna, Ashley, Jessica, and Phyl
P.S. If you are interested in learning more about their approach, read the Summer 2021 newsletter below.
For their sixth Slow Art Day, the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, GA, hosted an in-person slow looking and drawing session.
The session was originally planned as an outdoor sculpture viewing, but the rain had other plans and the event was hosted inside the museum. The program was created by Sage Kincaid, Associate Curator of Education, who has a strong passion for all things Slow Art.
On April 10, participants were invited to look slowly at three works of art at the museum:
Steinunn Thorarinsdottir, ‘Tide’, 2012. Cast iron and glass. 70 7/8 × 27 9/16 × 13 3/4 in. (180 × 70 × 35 cm) Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Museum purchase with funds provided by Judith Ellis
Participants doing line-drawings of Nick Cave’s Soundsuit Sculpture for Slow Art Day 2021. Photo courtsey of the Georgia Museum of Art.
Visitors in front of Joan Mitchell’s painting “Close” (1972) during a previous Slow Art Day event. Photo courtesy of the Georgia Museum of Art.
After looking at the art pieces, Katie Landers, an Education Department Intern at the museum, led separate slow looking and drawing activities.
Participants were first encouraged to think about their physical relationship to the sculpture by Steinunn Thorarinsdottir. Next, they investigated color and color palettes by looking at Joan Mitchell’s painting. Finally, they made a blind contour and continuous line drawing of Nick Cave’s sculpture. To end the day, all participants made abstract color collages together. The event was well received by a dedicated group of 10, who spent several hours together for an immersive experience on Slow Art Day.
At Slow Art Day HQ, we love the integrated multi-sensory approach that the Georgia Museum of Art took to designing this year’s event. While looking at something closely lets us see in new ways, slow drawing takes that process even further and allows attendees to connect looking, talking and making. And that creates the possibility to be present — with art, with ourselves, and with others.
We look forwad to what the Georgia Museum of Art comes up with for their 7th Slow Art Day in 2022.
For their second Slow Art Day, the Jameel Arts Centre, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, hosted an in-person slow looking and meditation event dedicated to Hiwa K’s work ‘My Father’s Colour Period.’
In April, (pre-registered) participants were invited to the centre for a free slow looking meditation event, led by Palestinian artist and designer Faissal El-Malak. The session focused on ‘My Father’s Colour Period‘, an instillation by Hiwa K, which is currently on display at Jameel Arts Centre as part of the solo exhibition: ‘Hiwa K: Do you remember what you are burning?’
Hiwa K. ‘My Father’s Colour Period’, from the solo exhibition by Hiwa K. ‘Do you remember what you are burning?’ 11000×500. Courtesy of Jameel Arts Centre. Photo by Daniella Baptista.
The instillation is based on the artist’s memories:
“A rumor spread in 1979 that the state-owned television station would show a film in color despite the fact that most televisions were black and white. Unlike in cities with Arab inhabitants, the majority of the people in the Kurdish area of Iraq still didn’t have color TV sets.
So my father decided to cut a sheet of colored cellophane and stick it on the screen of our TV at home. It stayed a whole week until he switched it to another color […] After a while, I realized that my father was not the only one making his own color TV. Many other people in the Kurdish area had devised their own unique filters.”
Hiwa K. My Father’s Colour Period’ from the solo exhibition ‘Do you remember what you are burning?’ 11000×500. Courtesy of Jameel Arts Centre. Photo by Daniella Baptista.
On April 10, participants were encouraged to wear comfortable clothing and bring yoga mats or blankets to sit on. They first looked slowly at the installation, then closed their eyes and participated in a meditation on color. Participants were guided through various steps to explore the idea of shades and nuances in color. After the meditation, participants had the opportunity to discuss their emotions and reflections on the experience.
Visitors watching the installation by Hiwa K. ‘Do you remember what you are burning?’ Courtesy of Jameel Arts Centre. Photo by Daniella Baptista.
Following the meditation, participants were given a guided tour of the current exhibitions at the Centre, including the remainder of the solo exhibition.
The event was part of an ongoing series at the Centre, which focuses on promoting engagement with art as a wellness practice. The Centre had a similar theme for their first Slow Art Day in 2020, which was a virtual and guided meditation. It can still be experienced here.
If you would like to know more about events at Jameel Art Centre, you can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
At Slow Art Day HQ, we love the way Faissal El-Malak and the team at Jameel Art Center designed their 2021 Slow Art Day. The photos of visitors watching the installation and the inclusion of meditation and yoga mats makes us wish we could have been there.
And as we look slowly at this installation, we find ourselves eagerly anticipating how future artists will help us see the Covid-19 pandemic in new ways.
We look forward to whatever the Jameel Art Centre comes up with for their third Slow Art Day in 2022.
For their first Slow Art Day, the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art (AKMA), in St Joseph, Missouri, invited visitors to slowly look at three works of art:
Frederick Judd Waugh, “Ladies Having Tea,” 1890. Oil on canvas.
Emily Dubowski, “Sunday Visit,” 1972. Acrylic on panel.
Luis Jimenez, “Eagle and Snake II,” 2008. Lintograph.
The museum had planned for participants to look at these three works of art for 10 minutes each, then meet to discuss the experience for 45 minutes together with a docent. However, circumstances caused them to quickly change their strategy.
First, many of the volunteer docents decided to self-isolate due to the pandemic, so at the last minute Jill Carlson, Marketing & Communications Manager, and her partner decided to lead the event. Fortunately, Carlson had previously participated in a Slow Art Day at BOZAR in Brussels a few years ago. That experience had inspired her to design the event at AKMA and made it easier for her to jump in and host the day.
It also likely made it easier for her to contend with the second change: a group of prom-going teenagers and their families showed up. For this tuxedo- and ballgown-clad audience, Carlson redesigned Slow Art Day on the fly and ended up giving brief information and suggestions for slow looking in front of each artwork. And the teenagers loved it (and we know how hard it can be to engage teenagers).
We’ll also note that Carlson and her team did a good job marketing Slow Art Day. In addition to the museum’s calendar of events, they advertised on their Facebook and Instagram pages and generated coverage in two local news outlets – The Savannah Reporter and Flatland (perhaps this is how the prom goers ended up coming).
They also created a simple brochure directing participants to the three artworks (see below).
AKMA’s advertisment of the Slow Art Day event
At Slow Art Day HQ we are really impressed with Carlson and her team’s commitment to Slow Art Day and to pivoting quickly at the last moment.
We look forward to what they come up with for Slow Art Day in 2022.
For their first Slow Art Day, the Northern Lights Gallery (located in Melfort, Canada, which is north-east Saskatchewan), invited visitors to try slow looking with artworks by five local artists: Linsey Levendal, Monica Daschuk, Al Jardine, Beth Bentz and Jim Mason.
Below are several photos of the artworks, plus information on their slow looking prompts and brochure.
Linsey Levendal, Carla. 2021. 11.5 x 15.5 cm. Pencil on Paper.
Jim Mason, Jade. 2021. Mixed Media-Wood, metal, Acrylic.
Visitors were given a brochure with some information about the five artworks, and prompts to use for observation and discussion:
Which artist captured your attention first and why?
How does _____ (your choice) piece compare with your preferred style of art?
If you could bring one piece from today home with you, which one would it be and why?
What medium do you prefer – acrylic, watercolor, ink, pencil…Something else?
Do you like 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional pieces better?
When you stop and look at a piece for 5-10 minutes do you think you see things in it you otherwise might not have?
How much art do you have in your home? What pieces have special meaning?
Families who attended were especially encouraged to discuss how art is an important part of everyday life with their children.
Below is the brochure that the Gallery created:
Northern Lights Gallery’s Slow Art Day brochure
The event was well received, and there was a steady stream of people during the day. Two of the artists, Al Jardine and Jim Mason, also attended and engaged in discussions with participants.
To view all the art on display at the Gallery, visit their website or Facebook Page.
Sandra Dancey, owner of the Northern Lights Gallery, said that Slow Art Day was really well received, especially now during the pandemic.
“Given the current state of the world I think most people need to know they aren’t alone, and they appreciate the opportunity to look at art and talk with each other”.
Sandra Dancey
At Slow Art Day HQ, we couldn’t agree more.
We believe slow looking provides a great opportunity for people to enjoy art and each other on a deeper level — and experience that we are not alone.
We look forward to seeing what Northern Lights Gallery prepare for their second Slow Art Day in 2022.
