Slow Art Day 2012

According to research, visitors to art museums spend on average eight seconds in front of any exhibit – not enough to take it in or to allow for future recall. Such non-reflective, passive, production-line perception of art results in the viewer feeling tired, museum galleries becoming for him or her synonymous with visual chaos.

That’s why the organisers of Slow Art Day have hit on the idea of slowing down the circuit of the museum , so that viewers may linger longer over selected works, instead of suffering collection overload.

Slow Art Day is an international museum action which aims to enable viewers to find their own way of responding to art and internalising it at a gentle pace. In every museum participating in the action a number of temporary or permanent exhibits will be selected for viewers to spend a few minutes on leisurely contemplation of each of them. An hour later, the visitors will meet over lunch or a coffee to swap their impressions with others. The action promotes an aware viewing of art and releases the visitors from the misguided sense of duty which often obliges them to view every single work.

The first Polish edition of Slow Art Day took place in 2010 at the National Museum in Warsaw. The Polish event has an added ingredient – volunteer guides, of assistance to all visitors. However, their task is not to provide commentary on the works, which is the job of curators, but to stimulate the viewers by asking them questions and encouraging them to join in discussion about the works.

This year, Slow Art Day will start on Saturday 28 April at high noon. Having spent an hour contemplating five pre-selected works, the participants will meet to share their impressions.

MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art will take part in the event. All those who would like to take part are welcome to start viewing at 12 noon, followed by a discussion at the MOCAK Café.

Entry to the Museum is free on the day.