For their 9th(!) Slow Art Day, the McMaster Museum of Art in Hamilton, Canada, hosted a virtual slow looking session organized by Information Officer Olga Kolotylo together with Education Officer Teresa Gregorio.
On April 2, participants looked slowly at artworks by Denyse Thomasos (1964-2012), Alexandra Luke, the Painters Eleven, and others.
At the start of the session, participants were first given context about the land which the McMaster is located on, which traditionally belongs to the Hadenosaunee and Anishinaabe nations. Slow Art Day was then introduced, and The McMaster presented the following advice for slow looking:
Get comfortable
Pay attention to your senses
Open yourself up
Allow yourself to enter the artwork
Trust your intuition
Share your findings
Look again
For the remainder of the time, participants were given silence to look slowly followed then by discussion.
The session was recorded and is available to watch below. We encourage art educators to check out the video for inspiration and ideas, including Kolotylo’s moderation and the way she did not reveal the artist or title until the end of each conversation.
Slow Art Day 2022 at the McMaster Museum of Art.
At Slow Art Day HQ, we love the longtime leadership of the McMaster Museum of Art in the slow looking movement and eagerly look forward to what they create in 2023.
We can’t wait to see what the McMaster Museum of Art comes up with for Slow Art Day in 2023.
– Johanna, Jessica Jane, Ashley, Phyl and Robin
P.S. You can stay updated with events at the McMaster Museum of Art via their IG page.
P.P.S. I, Johanna, feel especially nostalgic when I write about the McMaster events, since their event was one of the first reports I put together for Slow Art Day when I joined the team.
The Universidad Panamericana, Guadalajara campus, located in Zapopan, Mexico, held their first Slow Art Week as a part of their Lead Creative Festival. Lead Creative is a festival that invites young people to seek change through art, and was hosted by Andrea Guadalupe Covarrubias. For the festival, art is broadly defined to include the visual arts, along with instrumental and vocal music, dance, and theater.
With over 1800 participants, this hybrid event had both in-person engagement and social media posts on Facebook and Instagram with an average reach of 700 people per post.
Based on the success of their first Slow Art Day, they plan to hold slow looking sessions throughout the year and not just with visual art, but also with the choir, theater group, and dance artists.
The event was advertised as a part of the Lead Creative festival with the below flyer.
More information can be found on their website, along with videos from past events on their YouTube channel.
We can’t wait to see how Slow Art and Slow Looking are featured in next year’s Lead Creative festival!
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, Casa Regis, a non-profit association and centre for culture and contemporary art in Valdilana, Italy, featured local artists in a video and social-media-based event.
Casa Regis’ Facebook post of the event. In the picture, Achill(a)/Frame, sculpture by Daniele Basso.
On April 10, 2021, art photographer and founder of Casa Regis, Mikelle Standbridge, uploaded a series of short videos of different artistic installations on the organization’s Instagram page.
The videos featured a soundscape of birds chirping, as Mikelle briefly introduces works by local artists Sissi Castellano, Daniele Basso, Carla Crosio, Michela Cavagna and herself. Note: the artists were selected and chosen in part because of the interesting juxtaposition of their work against the backdrop of the eighteenth-century building in which Casa Regis is located.
Below you can find pictures of the featured installations, links to the videos, and a brief description of each.
Screenshot from the short video of Sissi Castellano’s installation I AM NOT AN ARTIST
Sissi Castellano‘s silkworm cocoon installation entitled‘ ‘I AM NOT AN ARTIST‘, is based on the Japanese Mingei philosophy of objects, which the artist follows. The Mingei approach simulatenaously focuses on the function and aesthetic value of common household objects.
You can view the installation and the above video here.
Daniele Basso.Hawk. Steel and white bronze sculpure. Picture taken from Casa Regis’ IG page.
Sculptor and artist Daniele Basso‘s ‘Hawk’, which comes from a series called Frames, is a stainless steel and white bronze sculpture. The artist plays with effects of mirroring, showing the complexity and the different levels of reality.
You can find a brief explanation and watch above video here.
Carla Crosio. Cancer. Picture taken from Casa Regis’ IG page.
Artist Carla Crosio‘s installation, entitled Cancer, is made of of marble, bronze and glass and it takes inspiration from her personal life.
At Slow Art Day HQ, we love the use of video for creating slow looking environments. We recommend that our museum educator and curator friends around the world watch some of the short videos that Mikelle created.
We are also happy to report that their inaugural event was so successful that they then planned in-person Slow Art day events for the rest of 2021. Excellent!
We look forward to whatever Casa Regis comes up with for Slow Art Day 2022.
Jessica, Johanna, Ashley, and Phyl
PS: A press release of the event is available in Italian here.
For their 7th Slow Art Day on April 10th, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto, one of Canada’s largest art museums, shared a video and five artworks from their collection to their social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
A couple of days before the event, AGO uploaded a slow looking video featuring Clarence Alphonse Gagnon’s ‘Study of a Hare in Winter’ (1922), with a slow looking and mindfulness exercise guided by Melissa Smith, Assistant Curator of Community Programs.
Slow Looking video produced by the Art Gallery of Ontario for Slow Art Day 2021, featuring Clarence Alphonse Gagnon’s ‘Study of a Hare in Winter’ (1922), with a slow looking exercise guided by Melissa Smith, Assistant Curator of Community Programs.
On the actual day of the event, participants were then invited to focus on each of these five artworks for 10 minutes:
Kazuo Nakamura, Blue Reflections, 1962
Abraham Anghik Ruben, Sedna, c.1990
Vilhelm Hammershøi, Interior with Four Etchings, 1904
Julie Mehretu, Algorithms, Apparitions and Translations, 2013
Christi Belcourt, Wisdom of the Universe. 2014
They were also encouraged to leave comments under each image.
Below are images of the artworks, which we encourage you to experience slowly using the AGO’s prompts that follow.
For this Kazuo Nakamura piece don’t just look slowly, look closely. See how subtly the colours change. Pay attention to how the gradual shifts in brushstrokes give a sense of movement to the landscape. What do you notice about how the brushstrokes are applied? Each and every brushstroke is calculated and purposefully applied. Nakamura is best known for this analytical approach in his paintings, and in his later works, he was influenced by mathematics and scientific theories. He sought to discover a universal pattern in art and nature. What do you think this universal pattern would look like? Do you prefer an analytical approach or a more gestural one?
Abraham Anghik Ruben is a storyteller and tells his stories through the medium of sculpture. His sculptures often tell the legends, myths, and spiritual traditions of the Inuit people and the Arctic land. A recurring figure in Ruben’s works is the Inuit Sea Goddess, Sedna. Look at how her hair dramatically but gracefully arches up behind her like it is flowing with the movement of water. Notice how her eyes stand out from the rest of the sculpture, and how she clutches her hands close to her torso. What do her expression and her posture suggest? What is the message Ruben is trying to share?
Looking for a little calm and quiet? Come and join us in Vilhelm Hammershøi’s “Interior with Four Etchings”. A muted scene in both colour and sound, we invite you to hush the world around you as you spend some time with this piece. The female figure is the artist’s wife, Ida. Since she has her back to us, we cannot read her expression. But because she is turned away, we can enter and explore this private space freely. Take a look around. Notice how the light softly enters from the left, creating reflections on surfaces and depth in the space. Where do your eyes go? To the items on the table? To the etchings on the wall? What are the etchings of? Look closely because there are details here that could have easily escaped you before.
There’s no piece quite like this Julie Mehretu that demonstrates the importance of an unhurried and patient approach to art. Mehretu is inspired by landscapes, cities, and human activity within nature. Particularly interested in layered imagery, Mehretu’s printmaking technique requires her to slow down as she layers line upon line to create this surreal landscape. Take a look, what do you see? Now, look closer. Even closer. The closer you look the more details you’ll see. The larger narrative will begin to fall apart, revealing various smaller narratives beneath. Just as the piece evolves with each of Mehretu’s lines, your experience of this work will also evolve over time. So, go on. Look again.
Ten minutes is hardly enough time to contemplate the wisdom of the universe, both the concept and this piece by Metis artist Christi Belcourt. Take your time to really explore this piece. What type of birds do you see? What type of flowers and vegetation can you recognize? Imagine yourself in this space. Move through the branches and notice the balance and harmony. Can you hear the sounds of the animals? Can you smell the flowers around you? See how everything is connected. This great network of life. Belcourt’s piece asks us to reflect upon the well-being of all living species on this earth, as the current climate crisis affects us all. Take a deep breath, and surround yourself with the wisdom of the universe.
xxxx
The event was well received, with 10,000+ likes and views on the AGO’s social media platforms.
Below are some great quotes form participants:
This is my favourite painting at the AGO! I always spend a long time in front of it and always pick up something new each visit.
Participant’s comment under Nakamura’s painting – Instagram
Love this idea!!
Participant’s comment on Instagram
We appreciate the Art Gallery of Ontario’s thoughtful design for this multi-day virtual event, and look forward to what they come up with for Slow Art Day in 2022.
For their second Slow Art Day, Sørlandets Kunstmuseum in Kristiansand, Norway, hosted a live slow looking event on Facebook, featuring Else Hagen’s artwork named Veninner (in English: ‘female friends’, alt. ‘girlfriends’).
On April 10, participants could tune in to the live 30 minute event on the museum’s Facebook page. The session was facilitated by Hanne Aamodt and Karoline Skomedal, respectively head tourguide and tourguide at the museum.
Participants were given an introduction to Slow Art Day, and then invited to observe the painting for seven minutes, using automatic writing as a slow looking tool (automatic writing means writing down words that come to mind without thinking about it). Afterwards, the facilitators shared some of their own thoughts and gave participants a set of prompts to use while studying the painting for seven *more* minutes.
The prompts included:
What shapes, colors and materials do you see?
What details do you notice?
What is going on in the painting?
Does the artwork remind you of something from your own life?
If you were at the place depicted in the artwork, what sounds would you hear? What surfaces, smells and temperatures would you feel?
The event was well received, and participants left comments like this after the live session:
“This was a great experience! I recommend it 🧡 Thank you very much!”
Participant’s quote on Facebook
The session was recorded and shared to YouTube. The video is included below for you to watch.
Slow Art Day 2021: Dypdykk i maleriet “Venninner” av Else Hagen. Video produced by Sørlandets Kunstmuseum.
At Slow Art Day HQ, we love the subject of this painting. Friends supporting each other is obviously a relevant theme during the ongoing pandemic, and we appreciate the warmth of this artwork.
If you would like to see more from Sørlandets Kunstmuseum, you can find them on their Facebook and Instagram pages.
We look forward to seeing what the Sørlandets Kunstmuseum has in store for Slow Art Day 2022.
For their fourth Slow Art Day, the MASS MoCA (Museum of Contemporary Art), in North Adams, Massachusetts, produced a self-guide leaflet for in-person visitors and organized a virtual event for participants at home.
For visitors to MASS MoCA on April 10th, the museum offered a Slow Art Day Self-Guided Itinerary that challenged visitors to take an unhurried look at MASS MoCA’s exhibitions.
Slow Art Day Self-Guided Itinerary
Before starting their tour, visitors were invited to try a “forest bath” outside the museum. Below are the guidelines from the leaflet:
“Start your slow experience by putting your phone away; plan on going back through the museum after this tour to take photos. Settle into being at the museum by taking in a few deep breaths. As you do so, observe any tensions in your body and release them. Put on hold any distracting thoughts like ‘I have to see everything!’ or ‘What is this place?’ Next, take a few moments to engage in a forest bath to increase relaxation and awareness.
First, take 3–4 deep breaths in/out.
Stand noticing your feet touching the ground.
Look up to enjoy the sky; feel the light on your face.
Walk around slowly and take notice of the ground.
Notice the trees above, then the trees in the distance.
Notice and feel sunlight streaming through the trees and take in the smell.
If you are feeling ambitious, take a moment to move your body to mimic the trees above. What would it be like to contort yourself the way these trees have changed to grow upside down? (One option could be to try the yoga tree and mountain poses).”
The leaflet featured five artworks from the museum, each accompanied by slow looking prompts:
1. TREE LOGIC. Natalie Jeremijenko.
2. HOW TO MOVE A LANDSCAPE. Blane De St. Croix.
3. IN THE LIGHT OF A SHADOW. Glenn Kaino.
4.DISSOLVE James Turrell.
5. IN HARMONICITY, THE TONAL WALKWAY. Julianne Swartz.
After completing the tour, participants were encouraged to discuss their observations with friends and family, especially if visiting in a group.
Natalie Jeremijenko, Tree Logic, 1999. 6 flame maple trees, 8 35 feet telephone poles, stainless steel planters and armature, aircraft table and drip irrigation system, photo: Zoran Orlic. Courtesy of MASS MoCA
Blane De St. Croix. HOW TO MOVE A LANDSCAPE. Building 4, 1st floor. Courtesy of MASS MoCA.
Glenn Kaino. IN THE LIGHT OF A SHADOW. Building 5. Courtesy of MASS MoCA.
James Turrell. DISSOLVE. Building 6, 2nd floor. Courtesy of MASS MoCA.
Julianne Swartz. IN HARMONICITY, THE TONAL WALKWAY. Building 10, 2nd floor.
For the online event, the museum launched virtual material as part of “MASS MoCA From Home.” Resources included two art “how-to” videos, featuring projects that focused on being present with the art-making process. Watch the videos below and try the projects for yourself.
Slow virtual Art-making video: Paper Pulp Clay. This project is inspired by Louise Bourgeois’ Untitled.
Slow virtual Art-making video: Frozen Watercolors. This project is inspired by James Turrell’s Dissolve.
As the final part of the program, MASS MoCA also produced a guided meditation that focused on the painting ‘Indian Summer – Four Seasons‘ by Wendy Red Star. Watch it below.
SLOW LOOKING MEDITATION video with Wendy Red Star’s Indian Summer – Four Seasons
At Slow Art Day HQ, we love the way MASS MoCA incorporated nature and mindfulness in their event for both onsite and offsite participants – giving everyone an opportunity to slow down in different ways.
We are excited for their 5th Slow Art Day in 2022!
For their second Slow Art Day, the Gardiner Museum in Toronto (ON), Canada, created a slow looking video that focused on two ceramic sculptures by renowned Japanese women artists:
Fujikasa Satoko Hiten; Seraphim, 2016 Stoneware with white slip glaze. The Diana Reitberger Collection
On April 10, the museum invited participants to watch the below video showcasing the sculptures.
We recommend that museum educators and Slow Art Day fans around the world watch this simple and lovely slow looking video. The video is also accessible through the Museum’s website and social media channels: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Slow Art Day 2021 video created by the Gardiner Museum. Music: White Lotus by Kevin Macleoud
While watching the video, participants were given the following prompts to better engage with the artworks:
‘Seraphim‘
Outline the sculpture with your eyes, noticing each bump and curve.
Trace the outline of the shadow at the base of the sculpture.
Look at the negative space created around and within the piece. What shapes do you see?
Observe the different areas of shadow and light. Try to identify all the various tones of grey, white, and black.
What would you title this piece?
‘Ryū: Flow‘
Look at the object as a whole. What does it look like to you? Does it remind you of anything familiar?
Observe the texture of the piece from a distance. What do you think it will look like up close?
What do think this piece would feel like to touch? Imagine resting your hand against it.
Pick a point along one of the little ribbons and follow it with your eyes, weaving among the spirals and folds. What shapes can you create?
Imagine picking up the sculpture. How heavy do you think it would be? Feel its weight in your hands.
If you were picking a spot to display this piece, where would you put it? Close your eyes and visualize it there.
Participants responded well to the video. We include some of their comments below:
I love experiencing the movements in such quietness. Thanks for showing us!
Participant’s quote
Wonderful pieces, beautifully shot! I could see the flow and feel the texture.
Participant’s quote.
Both beautiful pieces, a very meditative relaxing view of each individually. I really enjoyed looking at these two pieces in this way.
Participant’s quote
Such a lovely escape.
Participant’s quote
It is SLOW ART DAY… and the GardinerMuseum has released this wonderful5 minute videodesigned to help us pause and reflect in the midst of our busy lives. What a great idea!
Participant’s quote
We at Slow Art Day HQ loved the video and the prompts. The mindful connection with the ceramic sculptures recreated and enhanced the experience.
We are considering a global tour of Slow Art Day museums, perhaps starting next summer. We would definitely love to visit the Gardiner Museum and see these beautiful sculptures in person.
And, of course, we look forward to what the Gardiner Museum comes up with for Slow Art Day 2022.
For their first Slow Art Day, the online platform Red Zenith Collective launched on April 10, 2021 the project ‘What is Your Definition of Slow Art?‘ with a day-long series of four virtual activities dedicated to the meaning and potential of slow art.
These activities included:
An Instagram interview about slow art and sustainability.
A downloadable PDF with slow looking prompts, available to participants throughout the day.
A collaborative video project: ‘What is Your Definition of Slow Art?‘
An art meditation on the painting ‘Flamenco Singer‘ (Sonia Delaunay, 1916).
Sonia Delaunay, Flamenco Singer, 1916
Red Zenith Collective was founded by two Polish artists, Marta Grabowska and Zula Rabikowska as a platform for women, female-identifying and non-binary creatives with a link to Central and Eastern Europe. The Slow Art Day event was conceptualized and realized by Marta Grabowska, who is also a slow art activist.
Participants were first invited to watch an Instagram interview on definitions of slow art, including how to cultivate sustainability of slow looking in art and curatorship. Marta Grabowska interviewed Veronika Cechova and Tereza Jindrova, curators at the Entrance Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic – the first artistic space in Prague to include ecological sustainability and the environment in its long-term program.
The final event of the day was a Zoom art meditation on the painting ‘Flamenco Singer‘ by a Russian-French artist Sonia Delaunay. The meditation was the first in a series of art meditations written by Grabowska, who wrote the script. The meditation lasted 20 minutes and was scripted based on primary and secondary sources of the artists and their work.
Participants loved the program, and left very positive feedback:
Amazing way to focus your attention and learn a bit of art history.
Shane Hart
A very memorable experience. Allowed me to be mindful and really enjoy the vibrant artwork.
Julia
Great idea to marry meditation practices and art! I want more!
Anonymous
I wasn’t sure what to expect, as the name of the artist was not released until the last minute, but it was a gorgeous experience. The koshi bells were mesmerising! Both the writer and the provider are very knowledgeable and managed to create an alternative education setting that captivated us greatly!
Anonymous
At Slow Art Day HQ, we are impressed by and excited to learn more about Marta Grabowska’s ongoing research – perhaps even as part of the 2022 Red Zenith Collective Slow Art Day!
For their 7th annual event, Ur Mara Museoa in Alkiza, Spain — which always creates one of the most innovative Slow Art Day extravaganzas in the world — invited local and international artists and performers to present art on the theme of nature and sustainability.
Ur Mara Museoa. Courtesy of the museum
Their 2021 Slow Art Day featured performances and presentations by:
Painters Idoia Iturri, Diana Vasina and Bea Gonzalez Rojo,
Maria Giró Coll, a Catalan artist and cultural mediator, presented a sculpture by Jose Perez Ocaña, a Spanish artist who visited Alkiza in 1983
Marionette artist Corrado Massaci (watch some of it in the video below)
The artists observed each other’s work, and shared opinions and reflections with the participants.
Below we provide photographs, details and videos about each of the performances, starting with the painter Idoia Iturri.
Idoia Iturri presented four art works, all created in 2021. Three of them form a trilogy named Pandemiaren Trilogia (Pandemic Trilogy). Haurtzaroa (Childhood), Maskara (Mask) and Duintasuna (Dignity). The fourth artwork is named Bizipoza (Joy of Life).
Beatriz González presented three art works from her TFG (final master’s thesis):
‘Abuhero’
‘Ehpurriajas’
‘Lombo’
Beatriz González, Lombo, 2017.
Maria Giró Coll, a Catalan artist and cultural mediator, presented a sculpture by Jose Perez Ocaña, a Spanish artist who visited Alkiza in 1983.
Jose Perez Ocaña, Luna, 1984, presented by Maria Giró Coll during the Slow Art Day event at Ur Mara Museoa.
Following the event, Ur Mara Museoa created a 50-second video showing sequences of art pieces and marionettes, as well as museum curators, artists, performers, and visitors interacting with one another (all at a safe distance and wearing face masks). We love the spirit and warmth that Ur Mara Museoa always brings to their daylong Slow Art Day festival.
Video “Ur Mara Museoa 2021 Slow Art Day” 10 april, 2021.
35 people attended the event, which was promoted both on the museum’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. They received many likes on their IG posts. Read (in Basque) a great article about the event by the local newspaper.
Again, we at Slow Art Day HQ always look forward to what Ur Mara Museoa produces, and we hope to finally visit the museum next year, when we plan a European summer tour of Slow Art Day sites.
And we can’t wait to see what Ur Mara Museoa comes up with for 2022.
