Grand Rapids Slow Art Day, presented by ArtPrize

Saturday, April 17, 2010
Grand Rapids Art Museum
101 Monroe Center
11:00AM - 12:30PM - art viewing, 1:00PM -2:30PM Lunch at the GRAM Cafe

Hosts:

ArtPrize (Kevin Buist and Bill Holsinger-Robinson)

Fee: You pay the museum admission yourself day of the event and also pay for your own lunch.

Participants go to the Grand Rapids Art Museum on their own at 11:00AM (there is an $8 admission fee). Then, meet up for lunch at 1:00PM at the GRAM Café for discussion. Participants buy their own lunch.

Participants will spend about ten minutes with the following five works from the permanent collection. Each is located on the third floor.

• William Merritt Chase, The Opera Cloak (Gallery 3)
• Richard Diebenkorn, Ingleside (Gallery 4)
• Oscar Kokoschka, Vienna, View from Liebharstal I (Gallery 6)
• Joan Mitchell, The River (Gallery 7)
• Lewis Luman Cross, Bird’s Eye View of Passenger Pigeons Nesting(Gallery 2)

ArtPrize + Slow Art Day

ArtPrize and Slow Art Day share a similar goal, but accomplish it in very different ways. When we met the founders of Slow Art Day, we wanted it to happen in Grand Rapids, so we decided to host and promote the event.

In some ways, we’re opposites. Which we find really interesting. Slow Art asks you to devote a lot of time to each work, while ArtPrize challenges participants to sort through over a thousand works in a short period of time. ArtPrize pushes production of new work,  Slow Art appreciates existing work in museum collections. ArtPrize turns the city into an art gallery, Slow Art requires participants to patronize (and in a small way, fund) existing art institutions.

Join us at the museum, take a deep breath, slow down, and enjoy some art.

Slow Art Day 2010 * Cities and info * Host Slow Art * Reviews * Press * Photos
Slow Art Day is a project of the nonprofit Reading Odyssey, Inc.  Sign-up for our e-mail newsletter.

1. What is Slow Art Day?

Run by volunteer hosts around the world, Slow Art is a global grassroots movement aimed at helping people see art in a new way. Our mission is to reach people who are *not* regular museumgoers (and include those that are). We want to create the context for Slow Art participants to have a better experience visiting their local museums. 

In Slow Art, we slow the experience down. We encourage people to spend 5 or 10 minutes or more looking at a piece of art. The result is that participants get "inspired not tired" and want to return again and again. 

2. Why was Slow Art Day started?

To improve the experience of looking at art.

Most people who visit museums go only once every two years or so for the blockbuster exhibits (and that's only those who do attend - many never go to a museum at all). But, those who do visit skip through the museum and typically see each piece of work only briefly (some estimates say *8* seconds only). At the end of the visit, they are often tired and grumpy and not inclined to visit again. 

Museums have spent the time and money to build these wonderful collections of art. Slow Art aims only to help more people enjoy those collections.

3. How does it work?

It's simple:

- Participants register for Slow Art Day through the web - http://www.SlowArtDay.com 
- Then, they meet at their local museum at the appointed hour on Saturday, April 17, 2010  (and pay the fee for admission if there is one)
- They look at a few pieces of art for 5 or 10 minutes each (the pieces are pre-selected by the volunteer host)
- And, to finish, they have lunch with other participants to talk about their experience

4. How many cities and museums are participating in Slow Art Day April 17, 2010?

From Boston and Boca Raton to Belgrade and Sao Paulo, LA and Jakarta, Slow Art Days are happening everywhere.

To see the latest list of cities click here:
http://www.facebook.com/SlowArt?v=app_10442206389

5. Do the participants like it?

"I was inspired, not tired!"

To be honest, we were surprised by how much people loved it. We thought it was a good idea but we really had no notion how well it would be received.

Read some testimonials for yourself:
http://www.facebook.com/SlowArt?v=app_6261817190 

6. Who started Slow Art? Who runs it?

Reading Odyssey - a New York-based nonprofit - started Slow Art in the summer of 2009 as an experiment. The first Slow Art day in October 2009 was so successful that we decided to expand and continue Slow Art in 2010. If you are interested in writing about Slow Art or want more information, then contact Reading Odyssey cofounder and chairman (and Slow Art founder), Phil Terry at pterry at reading odyssey dot com.

Slow Art is run entirely by volunteers and is one of the many free programs hosted by the nonprofit Reading Odyssey. Reading Odyssey programs aim to reignite curiosity. 

7. Reading Odyssey newsletter

To keep informed of Slow Art Day and the other activities of the Reading Odyssey, please sign up for the Reading Odyssey newsletter here: