The Art Engager

So following on from last week's episode, talking about the benefits of some silence in your museum and gallery programmes. This week I'm sharing how to do it.

A little bit of silence in your programmes can benefit both you as the facilitator and the audience by promoting reflection, active listening, observation, engagement, and flexibility.

It contributes to a more meaningful and effective experience for all involved. So how can we create more opportunities for silence in our museum and gallery programmes?

Here are 7 easy ways to make time and space for silence.

Links

30+ ways to look at art slowly

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Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Episodes mentioned in today's show:

Episode 25 3 Thinking Routines for Slow Looking and Drawing

Episode 29 How to Develop a Reflective Practice

Episode 42 How to Read A Group

Episode 44 The 4 Elements of a Great Introduction

Episode 49 Inspiring Creative Writing Through Art with Mary Hall Surface

Episode 61 How mindfulness and drawing can help us to connect with art

Episode 66 7 Ways to Improve your Active Listening Skills

You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘silence is golden’ before. This proverb suggests that staying quiet or not speaking can be beneficial in certain situations.

How is silence a superpower that we can leverage to our advantage in the design and facilitation of our museum and gallery programmes?

Today I’m talking about why silence matters and I'm going to share some insights into why we should be harnessing this superpower to enhance our programmes.

But I’m also going to explore the flip-side - why some people feel uncomfortable around silence and how you can overcome this discomfort. 

Then I’m exploring 8 reasons why silence is beneficial for both you as a facilitator and for your participants. 

PS This is part 1 of a two-part series on silence. Next week I'll be exploring how you can add more silence into your programmes.

Links

Download my free Slow Art Guide

Download the Ultimate Thinking Routine List

Support the Show

Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Download the NEW resource - how to look at art (slowly)

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Episode 93 Slow Art and the Power of Slowing Down with Carl Honoré

Episode 94 Exploring Slow Art Day and Slow Looking with Phyl Terry

Episode 29 How to Develop a Reflective Practice

Episode 94 of the Art Engager features another special guest, Phyl Terry, Founder of Slow Art Day.

Slow Art Day is an annual event that encourages participants worldwide to look at and discuss art slowly. To date, over 1,500 museums and galleries on every continent, including Antarctica's McMurdo Station, have participated in Slow Art Day.

I first got in touch with Phyl back in 2013 when I heard about Slow Art Day. Today, we resume our conversation 10 years later about the importance of slowing down and spending more time with art.

• Phyl talks about how Slow Art Day originated and the hour long experience he had with a painting that started it all.
• We explore about how Slow Art Day has evolved over the years and some of the unique and memorable events that have taken place over that time.
• Phyl also talks about how organisations can participate in hosting their own Slow Art Day events or how individuals can participate even when there are no events near them.
• Phyl discusses the concept of "radical inclusivity" in Slow Art Day, which promotes the idea that anyone can engage with art without the need for prior artistic knowledge, through the act of looking slowly and reflecting.
• Finally, Phyl shares their thoughts on the future of Slow Art Day and how it might evolve as a movement in the coming years.

The conversation is filled with insights and reflections on the importance of slowing down and spending more time with art. Don't miss this one!

Links

Episode Web Page (with transcript)

Support the Show

Download my free Slow Art Guide

Slow Looking Club

SlowArtDay.com

https://www.instagram.com/slowartday/

https://www.facebook.com/SlowArtDay

Slow Art Day 2022 Annual Report 

Episode 46 What is Slow Art Day

Today on the podcast, I'm delighted to be talking to bestselling author, broadcaster, two-time TED speaker and voice of the Slow Movement, Carl Honoré.

In this episode, Carl Honoré, author of "In Praise of Slow," shares his insights on the benefits of slowing down in every aspect of life.

Our conversation centres around the slow movement, and how slowness can 'rehumanise' us in a culture that values speed above everything else.

We also discuss the slow art movement and how museums and other cultural institutions can be more welcoming for visitors who want to take a slower approach to art.

Main talking points:

• Carl Honoré's book "In Praise of Slow" and the impact it had on society and the slow movement
• How the slow movement is not just about slowing down for its own sake, but about reclaiming our humanity in a culture that treats us like machines.
• How the slow movement fits into the larger cultural conversation about resisting the pressures of a culture that values speed and productivity above all else
• How the pandemic has affected our relationship with time and speed, and whether it has led to a greater appreciation for slowness.
• How slow art can be an antidote to the fast-paced culture we live in
• How museums are finding ways to create slow environments and programmes to invite people to engage deeply with art.
• How blockbuster exhibitions (such as the Vermeer exhibition in the Rijksmuseum)and wall labels can help or hinder us in the experience we might have in a museum.
• The importance of building the muscle to observe, contemplate, and look deeply at art, especially in children
• Four ways we can all incorporate the principles of slow more fully into our own lives

Links

Episode Web Page

Download my new Slow Art Guide

Download the resource - how to look at art (slowly)

Support the Show

Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Carl Honoré's website:

Useful links www.carlhonore.info

Carl Honoré on Social Media:

YouTube Channel

Instagram

Twitter

LinkedIn

TED Talk 'In Praise of Slow'

In Episode 92, I'm chatting to Heather Thomas, the Head of Learning and Engagement at the Lightbox Museum and Gallery in Woking, UK.

Heather talks about how their Art and Wellbeing programme of creative and therapeutic workshops provides opportunities for those that would otherwise not be able to access arts and heritage services.

We discuss the guiding principles behind the Lightbox Museum and Gallery's work in learning and engagement, which has always included helping people with mental health issues or those who are isolated.

We also discuss what the Open Mind project is and how it provides a safe space for individuals to come and learn something new, chat with others and engage with art.

We talk about how Open Mind tours prioritise connection over content and are wholly participant-led, open conversations that take their cues directly from the participants, not the facilitator.

Finally, we talk about the positive outcomes of the programme and the Lightbox's plans for the future.

Links

Lightbox website: www.thelightbox.org.uk  

Museums Journal (Museums Association UK) article: https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/analysis/2022/11/its-time-for-museums-to-address-mental-health/

Baring report: https://baringfoundation.org.uk/resource/creatively-minded-at-the-museum/

Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk/

Catalyst: https://www.catalystsupport.org.uk/

If you are struggling, please contact Samaritans https://www.samaritans.org/

Young Minds website for children and young people: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/

Are you tired of using the same old thinking routines in your museum and gallery programmes? Maybe it's time to try something new? In this week’s episode, I'm sharing three exciting thinking routines that you can add to your repertoire.

These routines will help you engage your audience and encourage them to think creatively about art and objects.

• Start with the basics: building a repertoire of thinking routines.
• Experiment and try new thinking routines to stay curious and inspired.
• Three new thinking routines to try out: Imagine If, Take Note, and Creating Space for Learning
• Imagine If: a thinking routine for looking closely, finding opportunity, and pursuing new ideas.
• Take Note: a thinking routine for distilling ideas in response to a piece of art or an object.
• Creating Space for Learning: a thinking routine that is essentially a grounding exercise that helps us to prepare for any programme, class or task.

Three new thinking routines for you to try out. I hope you find them helpful in engaging your audience with art and objects in a new and exciting way.

Links

EPISODE WEB PAGE 

Episode 6 - 6 Essential Thinking Routines You Need in your Repertoire

Episode 16 - How to use See Think Wonder in your Art Discussions

Episode 57 - How to End Well

Episode 59 - 9 Thinking Routines to Improve your Powers of Observation

Download the Ultimate Thinking Routine List

Support the Show

Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Download the NEW resource - how to look at art (slowly)

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Today I’m exploring the concept of creating intellectual comfort in your museum and gallery programmes. 

In my (forthcoming) book Slow Looking at Art: The Visible Thinking in the Museum Approach I have a chapter dedicated to creating a collaborative culture in your museum and gallery programmes. As part of this chapter, I talk about how important it is to make participants feel not only psychologically safe, but also intellectually safe. 

Museums can be intimidating spaces. And this is particularly prevalent in art museums and around art in general. So many people feel that museums are not places for them, that there is a prerequisite amount of information required before you can enjoy being in a museum.

Your job as a facilitator is to ensure that everyone feels confident and able to participate fully in your programme, whatever their motivation or knowledge level upon arriving. This is what it means to create intellectual comfort on a museum or gallery programme. 

In today's episode, I'm exploring what intellectual comfort is, why it's important and 8 ways you can foster it in your programmes.

Links

EPISODE WEB PAGE 

Episode 74 - How to Enjoy Art (without knowing anything about it)

Episode 44 - The 4 elements of a great introduction

Episode 48 - 10 types of questions you should never ask

Download the Ultimate Thinking Routine List

Support the Show

Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Download the NEW resource - how to look at art (slowly)

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Articles quoted on Intellectual Safety:

Critical Communities: Intellectual Safety and the Power of Disagreement - Ashby Butnor

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1005647.pdf

The Importance of Intellectually Safe Classrooms for Our Keiki - Trevor Baba https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1237572.pdf

I have a guest for you today on the show. I’m really happy to be talking to Hannah Cushion about her work as an artist and educator. 

Hannah is an artist and museum educator working in London and Oxfordshire in the UK. Her work is interested in themes around archiving and preservation. She’s interested in why we keep the things we keep and who we're keeping them for. 

Since receiving a creative practice grant from Arts Council England in 2021, Hannah has been looking at ways to directly connect her museum practice with her art practice. 

This has led to the development of the Memory Bank Project, a collection of stories and memories connected to everyday objects. 

In our chat today, Hannah and I discuss how inclusivity, curiosity, and the opportunity to collaborate with people and to create meaningful connections with objects and between people are really important values in her practice.

Museum labels tell us one story but what if the objects themselves could talk? How do we encourage people to include their own stories and experiences when we talk about objects? 

As this project develops Hannah is exploring how she can adapt her skills as a facilitator to her role as a story collector.

We talk about what the Memory Bank Project is, how it works and how Hannah encourages participants to share their personal connections, stories, experiences and memories around an object. And we tell you how you can take part too!

So here it is, enjoy!

Links

Episode Web Page

https://www.hannahcushion.com/the-memory-bank

Instagram: @hannahcushionartist @thememorybankproject

Download the NEW resource - how to look at art (slowly)

Download the Ultimate Thinking Routine List

Support the Show

Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Today I’m exploring play in museum education practice. How can we create and lead playful museum programmes? How can we bring more opportunities for play into our guided tours and educational programmes?

I was inspired for today's post by our new theme in the Slow Looking Club. Every two weeks we have a new theme and right now we’re exploring play as the focus for our slow looking. We’re looking for depictions of play and playful approaches in art, but also how we can adopt a playful attitude to slow looking when we’re out and about.

This led me to thinking about how we can be more playful in our programmes when we are with visitors (of all ages, not just children) and incorporate more meaningful opportunities for play? 

Today I'm sharing 9 ways that you can incorporate play into your guided tours and programmes.

Links

Episode Web Page

Download the NEW resource - how to look at art (slowly)

Episode 56 Learning to Love ‘Boring’ Objects through slow looking

Episode 45 - What we can learn from improv with Samantha Boffin

Episode 59 - 9 Thinking Routines to Improve your Powers of Observation

Episode 72 - Reacting to art with our bodies with Rachel Ropeik

Episode 25 - 3 Thinking Routines for Slow Looking and Drawing

Episode 61 - How mindfulness and drawing can help us to connect with art with Karly Allen

Download the Ultimate Thinking Routine List

Support the Show

Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Today I’m returning to one of my favourite subjects - questions. 

I’m going to explore open-ended questions in detail - not just what they are, but why they are important and when you can use them for the best engagement.

Plus, how can you get better at asking open ended questions and ask more of them in your programmes? How can you make sure that you don’t default to closed questions or recall questions? 

I'm sharing 4 ideas that will help you to ask more open-ended questions & keep the conversation flowing in an open and engaging way.

Links

EPISODE WEB PAGE 

The Art of Questioning Class with Claire Bown

Download the 2023 Ultimate Thinking Routine List

Support the Show

Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Download my free guide - how to look at art (slowly)

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown