The Art Engager

So in today’s episode I’m talking about how to develop a reflective practice in your work. A reflective practice is simply the art of thinking about or reflecting on what you do. It is a way of recognising, capturing and articulating what we’re learning on a moment by moment basis.By following any of the suggestions in this episode, you will develop a questioning approach to your work. You will stop and pause to think about why things are as they are and how they might be in the future. You will consider the strengths and areas of development in your own practice and consider how to develop your skills.First I'll share more about what reflective practice is and the benefits of introducing reflection as a practice into your work. Then I'm going to share 7 different ways you can use to develop your reflective practice  and 3 tips to get you started. The Art Engager is written and presented by Claire Bown. Editing is by Matt Jacobs and Claire Bown. Music by Richard Bown. Support the show on Patreon.LinksThe Art Engager: Reimagining Guided Experiences in Museums (Claire's book)For more information about Project Zero thinking routines, visit: https://pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routinesCIPD Guide to Reflective Practice

Today I’m focusing on colour. Colour is one of the 7 elements of art along with shape, line, form, texture, value and space. It's a vast subject - but today I don't want to focus on colour theory or the science of colour. Instead, I want to get you thinking about how you approach colour with your audience during an art discussion. I’m going to look at different ways you can create discussion about colour with your groups to get them engaged in artworks. Colour is important because it can make you feel something, even if the artwork itself doesn’t at first glance. Colour is the hook to get audiences curious about artworks and wanting to know more. So, listen in for some different ways that you can engage your audience - any audience - in discussion about colour.LinksSupport the ShowColour Shape LineColour Shape Line videoArt Palette Google Arts and CultureColor Explorer Google Arts and Culture

Today I’m delighted to be talking to Kenia Santos - an educator based in Brazil with specialisations and interests in art history, philosophical inquiry, social and emotional learning, thinking routines and slow looking. We discuss how she uses thinking routines in her work to encourage and develop slow looking,  how she keeps her teenage students engaged for 3 hours in her art classes and how we can develop empathy through slow looking.Kenia is a passionate educator, slow looking enthusiast and a self-described art history nerd; a cat lover, free spirit and a friendly soul. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did! LinksSupport the Show Masterclass - How to Develop Empathy through Slow LookingCLIL - Content and Language Integrated Learning Kenia Santos WebsiteKenia Santos on InstagramKenia Santos on LinkedInKenia Santos Email

The traditional lecture-style guided tour is dead, long live the interactive tour! Well, it’s not actually, it’s still alive and kicking in some quarters, but in my opinion it shouldn’t be the way we think about guided tours in the 21st Century. Traditional lecture-style ‘walk and talk ‘ guided tours with an expert guide are still fairly common and in some places are still a standard way of ‘presenting’ an historic site, a city or a museum to the public.Things have definitely changed in the last 10 years since I started this journey of teaching others how to transition to a more discussion-based approach, but there is still work to be done.If you feel you talk too much on your tours or you overshare information, this podcast episode is for you. If you would like to have more interaction with your participants then today I’m sharing 10 easy ways you can implement NOW to make your tours more interactive - that means more of a two-way conversation rather than a one-way lecture.So, here are 10 easy ways to make your guided tours more interactive.LinksSupport the ShowEpisode 4 The 5 Golden Rules for Asking Brilliant QuestionsEpisode 10 10 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Asking Questions Episode 15 How to Use Artworks to Improve your Questioning SkillsThe TM WEEKLY Newsletter - every Friday in your Inbox!

This week’s episode is inspired by recent classes in the Visible Thinking Membership where we've been exploring the concept of using drawing and sketching for slow looking and observation. When people are learning how to draw, they actually learn how to observe first. And being a sketcher makes you a better observer - it’s as though you are seeing something for the first time when you’re trying to draw it. Today I’m talking about using drawing as an observational exercise. It’s not a test of how good your drawing skills are, it’s a test of how to use your eyes. 👀 Using drawing as a tool for slow looking enriches and enhances what you see. So here are 3 thinking routines that you can use for slow looking, extended observation and drawing. And at the end of this episode I’ll be sharing some ways to get over drawing apprehension - that feeling of nerves when someone asks you to draw. How can you help your group to feel comfortable and enjoy drawing with you? So do stick around to the end for those ideas too!LinksSupport the ShowHow to Use Slow Complexity Capture to Slow Down and Explore ObjectsWays Things Can be ComplexSimon Brooks Education

Today I’m really excited to be chatting to Louise Thompson - a museums and wellbeing consultant as well as the health and wellbeing manager at Manchester Art Gallery for the past 9 years. We’re talking how about art and objects can be used to learn wellbeing skills and improve mental health.Louise has over 12 years experience of arts and health practice and is hugely passionate about using culture and creativity to improve people’s wellbeing.We discuss:Louise’s work and some of the wonderful projects she’s worked on recently - the Becoming a Mum art therapy project during lockdown and the pioneering Mindful Museum at Manchester Art Gallery.how artworks can create a sense of community and how art and cultural collections can make us feel less alone and more connected.how attitudes to mental health have changed over the past few years and how museums, art and objects can play a role in improving wellbeing and mental healthmindfulness and the particular type of mindfulness that informs Louise’s work - trauma-sensitive mindfulness - and how cultural institutions are brilliantly placed to teach mindfulness in a trauma-sensitive way.Louise shares so much value in our chat - make sure you listen to the whole episode to catch it all!LinksSupport the Show - https://buymeacoffee.com/clairebownMasterclass -The Mindful Museum: Using Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness to Engage with Cultural Collections https://thinkingmuseum.com/product/the-mindful-museum/Well Mindful website https://well-mindful.com/Louise Thompson on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/well_mindful_/Louise Thompson on Twitter https://twitter.com/Louise_Tea_Becoming a Mum https://manchesterartgallery.org/learn/becoming-a-mum/Lead art psychotherapist for Becoming a Mum - Sarah Greaves Sarah Greaves Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahgreavesart/The Mindful Museum https://manchesterartgallery.org/learn/mindful-museum/

Have you ever asked a question that was greeted with nothing but silence? You look around and all you can see are blank faces.The silence is scary because you don’t know what people are thinking. It could mean anything. You wait a little longer and still nothing happens. Just the sound of tumbleweed rustling by….You've just experienced a 'tumbleweed moment' - a period of dead air or silence. And it’s awkward and uncomfortable - not just for you but also for your participants too. You don't know what people are thinking and your mind races to think of something to fill the silence. But what if you had some steps to work though to help you get over this moment? Well, help is at hand. Today I'm sharing some practical ways to get over a tumbleweed moment.And at the end I’ll be sharing some advice about avoiding these moments in the first place - so stick around and together we’ll make sure you never have to hear the terrifying sound of silence again! LINKSSupport the show! https://buymeacoffee.com/clairebownEpisode 10 - 10 common mistakes to avoid when asking questions - https://thinkingmuseum.com/2021/06/24/10-common-mistakes-to-avoid-when-asking-questions/

In the past week I’ve just started teaching my Visible Thinking in the Museum Online course (VTMO) to a group of international educators excited to start confidently leading  discussions around art and objects. There’s always a buzz when we get going and an enthusiasm to learn as much as you can as quickly as possible. But I always try to slow down participants, so that they can take it one step at a time and build up their practice (and confidence) slowly. So this week’s episode is for all the new VTMO-ers and for anyone who has just started out using thinking routines to engage their audiences with art. Here are my top 13 tips for getting started!LINKSSupport the show https://buymeacoffee.com/clairebown

Today I’m really excited to be introducing our first guest chat on the podcast - Samantha Boffin.Samantha is a voice actor, director and audio drama coach working with clients on voice technique, voiceover and communication.⁠Your voice is one of your biggest assets when it comes to storytelling, entertaining and engaging your audience. In this episode, you will discover how to look after it, use it and make the most of it with simple, fun and actionable techniques. Samantha shares some wonderful tips and techniques that we can all use to make the most of our voice and use it in the best way possible.We discuss:Why your voice is importantTips / techniques for optimising your voice before you start a session (e.g an art discussion or a guided tour or a classroom lesson for teachers!)How to use your voice to ENGAGE your audienceHow the voice can be a tool in your educator toolbox to keep your audience tuned in, curious and eager to participate.Sam is very generous with her advice and shares lots of gold here – so you might need to make notes! LinksFind Samantha's Masterclass 'Your voice: How to Look after it, use it and engage your audience' in my membership programmewww.samanthaboffin.co.ukLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-boffin/Instagram   https://www.instagram.com/samanthaboffin/Taking Creative podcast https://samanthaboffin.co.uk/talkingcreative/ 

Today I’m talking about the 6 core elements in my popular Visible Thinking in the Museum Online (VTMO) course - elements that you should also have in your educator repertoire to connect with your audience and engage them with art and objects. I'm sharing with you:How the course came about during the start of the pandemic in 2020How it was designed and whyThe 6 core elements of the course and why they're important to youWhat you will get out of VTMONext week,  I’m teaching VTMO for the final time in the Visible Thinking membership. We start on 20 September!LINKSSupport the show https://buymeacoffee.com/clairebownVisible Thinking in the Museum Online (VTMO) course - www.thinkingmuseum.com/vtmo