Launched in 2010, the Slow Art Day this year involves 166 museums around the world, including BOZAR in Brussels, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Tate Modern in London.
The idea? That this Saturday, April 6, "people all over the world visit local museums and galleries to look at art slowly. Participants look at five works of art for 10 minutes each and then meet together over lunch to talk about their experience."
As The Art Newspaper noted recently, a study conducted in 2017 by Pablo Tinio and Jeffrey & Lisa Smith at the Art Institute of Chicago showed that the average time spent in front of an artwork is 28.6 seconds. The researchers highlighted that this time included reading the information sign and, "for a large percentage of visitors", taking selfies.
Outside of this initiative, the biggest institutions frequently hold events designed for visitors to take their time. The Tate Modern, for example, offered "slow looking" tours for the exhibition dedicated to Pierre Bonnard.
