Skip to content

ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE WITH ART AND IDEAS

Claire Bown Thinking Museum

HI, I’M CLAIRE BOWN

I teach people techniques to help them connect with art.

I love helping people make connections with artworks and with each other through conversation based on art and objects.

I’m a huge fan of slow looking and have developed an approach to help people engage with art and objects in museums called Visible Thinking in the Museum.

I believe art and museums are there for everyone. My mission is to share tools and techniques to help everyone to enjoy the world of art more fully, without necessarily needing recourse to any specialist, in-depth knowledge or skills.

FREE GUIDE – HOW TO LOOK AT ART SLOWLY

Sign up with your email address to receive my new 17-page guide sharing 30+ different ways that you can look at art or objects in museums. 

It can be used by anyone looking for new ways to engage with what they’re seeing.

HOW TO LOOK AT ART SLOWLY
How to Look at Art Slowly

WORK WITH ME

Ever wondered what makes the perfect art or museum-guided experience? Or what it takes to be a good facilitator of discussions about art and ideas? Perhaps you’d like to make your programmes and online sessions more interactive, participative or engaging for your audiences?

I offer a variety of courses, classes and resources for teams and individuals.

TEAMS

Choose from a selection of in-person, online, VTMO or hybrid team training options focusing on method, skills and/or coaching. 

TEAMS

INDIVIDUALS

Choose how to work with me from VTMO Beginners, Intermediate or Advanced, to self-paced classes and one-to-one sessions. 

INDIVIDUALS

LATEST PODCAST EPISODES

I publish a new podcast episode and blog every week on all aspects of engaging your audience with art and ideas – from Visible Thinking in the Museum techniques and ideas, to helping you to develop your questioning or facilitation skills and new tools to experiment with.

Claire’s Favourites: How to Cultivate Curiosity on your Museum and Gallery Programmes

For the next few weeks I’m choosing my favourite episodes from the back catalogue of the podcast. With 100 episodes to now choose from, I’m taking this opportunity to revisit some of the episodes I’ve most enjoyed putting together. Today’s choice is all about curiosity. This was a really popular episode back in February 2022 when… Read...

Creating Cultures of Thinking in Museums with Ron Ritchhart

In this special 100th episode of The Art Engager podcast, I’m chatting to educator, researcher, author, and speaker Dr Ron Ritchhart. Ron Ritchhart is an award-winning educational researcher, retired Senior Research Associate at Harvard Project Zero and current Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Australia. His research is focused on developing intellectual character, making thinking visible,… Read...

Striking the right pace: how ‘less is more’ creates engaging museum programmes

Welcome to episode 99, where I’m diving into the concept of pacing in museum and gallery programmes, with a particular focus on the idea that “less is more.” Pacing directly influences the participant experience. A well-paced programme ensures that your participants stay engaged, attentive and receptive throughout their journey.  By carefully managing the rhythm and… Read...

Testimonials

Elisa Mosele

Elisa Mosele, English Language Teacher & Art Facilitator

“VTM and thinking routines have really changed both the way I teach and the way I help people approach a work of art. The results are outstanding “

Gabrielle Grime

Gabrielle Grime Heritage Education Officer

“Visible Thinking in the Museum is a game changer in museum education. It provides a wonderful basis from which to present programs.”

Bjorg Stefansdottir

Bjorg Stefansdottir, Director International Office, Iceland University of the Arts

“The course was in my opinion perfect – super well-organised and much more personal than I would have expected. Claire, you are a master of making things interesting!”