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When some go to a big museum, they feel the pressure to see as many works as possible. The folks at the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) says you don't have to do that. In fact, they suggest you slow down. SAMA's Director of Education Tripp Cardiff
says they recommend slowing down.
“Slow Down at SAMA. It's a slow-looking experience. It's a guided experience that's facilitated by two of our docents, and the whole idea behind it is kind of turning a museum visit on its head,” Cardiff said. “I think when a lot of people go to a museum, they feel just sort of an innate pressure to try to see as much as possible.”
So twice a month they offer a guided tour where you slow down and take things in slowly.
“You don't have to have any background knowledge to participate in these,” he said. “I think a lot of folks assume that ‘museums aren't for me because I don't already know anything about art.’”
In this hour-long event Cardiff says its title describes what they do: they slow down and take in what’s right there in front of you, but you probably haven’t noticed.
“We've got some wonderful docents who are really quite skilled at leading people through a conversation about these works,” Cardiff said.
The premise for the Slow Down event is research that shows that people at museums give each artwork only about 17 seconds before moving on. That 17 seconds shortchanges the effort, the ability that most of them have spent decades developing.
“We ask people to just take a quick look at a work of art, and we'll ask for their impressions, their thoughts, and then we'll really like slow down and really spend time with it, and then we can actually compare and kind of reflect on the difference in our experiences with these works,” he said.
Cardiff notes there are even opportunities that will allow you to come in for free.
“We host these two times a month. The first occasion is during our second Sunday free hours, so second Sunday of the month between 10 and noon. These tours are offered at 11 a.m.
The next slow down event is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 9.
If the Slow Down idea sounds interesting to you, you can find more at samuseum.org.
