Guest Blog from Rachel Tirone

Volunteer organizer of Slow Art Day at McMaster

The second-annual Slow Art Day held at the McMaster Museum was a great success! We had a good turnout with many return guests from last year’s event. This year we looked at works chosen from the Margaret Watkins: Domestic Symphonies and Antiquities exhibits, as well as from the 2014 McMaster Studio Arts graduating show, Chiasmata. Like last year, the event was designed to encourage guests to look at art slowly. Since most visitors at a museum or gallery spend an average of 30 seconds looking at an artwork, I suggested that our Slow Art Day participants take 3-5 minutes looking at each selected piece of art. After slow-looking for one hour, we retreated to the Coin Room for a catered lunch and open discussion.

Part of Slow Art Day’s initiative is to break down barriers between museums and their visitors. A museum or gallery setting can be intimidating, particularly if you do not have an arts background, so the discussion portion of the event is intended to create an open environment where people can bring their own backgrounds and experiences to the table.