Thinking Museum Blog

September 2022

Looking at life like a work of art with Marina Gross Hoy

LOOKING AT LIFE LIKE A WORK OF ART with MARINA GROSS HOY INTRODUCTION Today I'm delighted to be talking to Marina Gross Hoy about how to look, and in particular, how to look at your daily life as if you were looking at a work of art. Marina Gross Hoy is a museum studies PhD candidate and a writer. Her doctoral research at the University of Quebec in Montreal focusing on how museums develop digital projects to create engaging experiences for visitors. She has a Master's in Museology from the École du Louvre,

Mindset shift: how to embrace the power of information

MINDSET SHIFT: HOW TO EMBRACE THE POWER OF INFORMATION INTRODUCTION As I said way back in Episode 12 which shared 6 best practices for sharing information, many of us are experts in our field - possibly art historians, historians or archaeologists - and want to share that incredible knowledge with the groups we lead in our programmes. But sometimes having that knowledge can be a burden. It can weigh heavy on us. Knowing what information to share, when to share it and how to share it is tricky. How much is too

7 Ways to Improve your Active Listening Skills

BITESIZE: 7 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR ACTIVE LISTENING SKILLS Most of us think we’re good listeners. But are we really? What does it mean to be an active listener in an art discussion, guided tour or educational programme in the museum? Listening is one of the most important skills in our toolbox. But few of us know how to really listen. It's just not something we're taught. It requires both time and practise to develop effective listening skills. And it’s a challenge - when we’re listening our minds naturally tend to wander

Making museums accessible through art therapy & wellness programmes

MAKING MUSEUMS ACCESSIBLE THROUGH ART THERAPY & WELLNESS PROGRAMMES INTRODUCTION Today I’m so happy to be talking to Richa Mehta about her work. We’re talking about what a mindful museum is, museum-based art therapy and how art can support the development and exploration of identity and connection Richa Mehta is a certified art therapist and educator working as a museum education and wellness professional at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Richa believes that the museum space can be more accessible to marginalised community members, through implementing museum-based wellness and art therapy programming and resources,.

4 Powerful Questions to Supercharge your Art Experiences

4 POWERFUL QUESTIONS TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR ART EXPERIENCES In the past I’ve talked about all kinds of different subjects about questioning. I’ve talked about The 5 Golden Rules for Asking Brilliant Questions⁠ (Episode 4), the 10 Common Mistakes to Avoid when asking questions (Episode 10), how to use artworks to improve your questioning skills (Episode 15), quick things you can do now to improve your questioning technique immediately (Episode 36) and so-called ‘bad’ questions - the types of questions you should probably be avoiding in your art experiences (Episode 48) I

July 2022

4 Slow Looking Exercises for Summer 2022

BITESIZE: 4 SLOW LOOKING EXERCISES FOR SUMMER 2022 In an age where the average person checks their phone at least 85 times a day, our inundated brains are slowing down. ⁠ ⁠ We need to retrain ourselves to get better at sustained attention. And to learn to appreciate the benefits of it too.⁠ ⁠ Spending time slow looking offers refuge from the rush and time to slow down and see the details. It’s the opposite of scanning and scrolling. “Always-on” behaviour is about being in a constant state of alertness without

7 Ways to Be Creative with Thinking Routines

BITESIZE: 7 WAYS TO BE CREATIVE WITH THINKING ROUTINES I have a golden rule when I introduce participants on my team trainings and in my VTMO course to thinking routines for the first time. This that you should get to know one thinking routine really, really well before you learn any more. This is usually See Think Wonder - probably the most well-known and famous thinking routine of them all I tell participants to get to know the routine as it is written before they start to add in any variations. Try

How mindfulness and drawing can help us to connect with art

HOW MINDFULNESS AND DRAWING HELP US TO CONNECT WITH ART INTRODUCTION Today I’m so happy to be talking to Karly Allen about her work. We’re talking about how mindfulness can help us to connect with and engage with art, how we can bring mindfulness practices to the experience of drawing. Karly Allen is a UK-based gallery educator, drawing tutor and mindfulness teacher. She has worked for the National Gallery, London, over the past 20 years and has taught widely for UK art collections including the National Portrait Gallery, Wallace Collection and

Bitesize: Learn, Unlearn, Relearn

BITESIZE: LEARN, UNLEARN, RELEARN There is a famous quote by Alvin Toffler that goes: “The illiterate of the future are not those who can’t read or write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” As educators, you’re probably already quite enthusiastic about the learning part. Being a lifelong learner is something that is a part of us. We’re constantly learning new things and updating our knowledge. But learning is not just about acquiring new things to learn, it’s important to learn, unlearn and relearn. In today's episode I'm talking about why

June 2022

9 thinking routines to improve your powers of observation

9 THINKING ROUTINES TO IMPROVE YOUR POWERS OF OBSERVATION In today’s solo episode, I’m talking about observation skills - why they are important and I’m sharing 9 thinking routines that you can use to boost your observation and description skills. INTRODUCTION So, observation skills. As you’ll know from previous episodes, I’m really fascinated by observation and really interested in developing my skills in this area (I have LOADS of books on this subject!) Most of the time we are observing passively - missing out on a wide range

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