National Gallery Singapore is proud to present Slow Art, a programme series where art appreciation meets “slow looking” and mindfulness. Driven by a belief in the power of slowing down, Slow Art encourages people to savour art in a conscious manner, resulting in a deep and mindful experience.
Currently, Slow Art is available in two primary formats: Slow Art Audio Guides and Slow Art X.
The Slow Art programme design process saw the Gallery collaborating closely with leading experts from the fields of wellness, healthcare, and the social sciences. You can find more details about our research process below.
There are currently three artworks to choose from. These artworks are part of The Care Collection, a selection of artworks from the National Collection that supports wellbeing.
Slow Art Guide is available for community group visits by request. If you are interested in booking a session, please contact us.
Read moreThroughout the development of the Slow Art Guide, the Gallery has been in conversation with leading experts to enhance the efficacy and quality of our slow looking experience. To that end, we consulted Dr. Mabel Yap, a medical doctor and trained mindfulness teacher, for the Slow Art Guide script design.
We also engaged Dr. Felicia Low from Community Cultural Dimensions to holistically assess the participants’ physical and psychological responses after using Slow Art Guide. Our Slow Art Guide episodes are designed with care and intention, guided by participant feedback and research data.
The Face in Meditation by Abdul Ghani Hamid
Multiple languages
Irrawaddy by Kim Lim
Multiple languages
Age of Full Bloom by San Minn
Multiple languages
Slow Art X is a fully guided experience led by a certified mindfulness instructor who invites you to engage deeply with one artwork through a combination of mindfulness meditation, creative exercises and reflective group sharing. Each 90- minute session focuses on one artwork and is best suited for no more than 12 participants.
This is a paid and on- demand programme. If you are interested in offering Slow Art X to your communities or corporate teams, please contact us.
The Gallery conducted a research project in collaboration with the Action Research for Community Health (ARCH) Laboratory of Nanyang Technological University (NTU). This research project studied the efficacy of combining mindfulness and meditation with multidisciplinary creative exercises in improving participants’ perceived stress and anxiety levels.
The results of this study informed the programme design for Slow Art X, an extended and participatory slow looking experience with one artwork. Read more about the research Gallery has co-published with NTU. The executive summary is also available.
This research project is supported by Johnson & Johnson Foundation.
As the Gallery continues to develop our Slow Art programmes, we hope to extend this slow looking experience to as many communities as we can reach.
To make this a reality, we will need more support. Your donation will ensure the growth of the Slow Art series by supporting further facilitator training, content development, and the production of free audio resources, amongst othersand more.
Donations above $50 are eligible for tax deduction.
