Author(s): Michael Garbutt; Nico Roenpagel; Frank Feltens

Activity

101 imaginative practices will engage your senses, open your mind, and transform your museum experience

Switch off your phone, take a deep breath, and prepare for adventure. Mindful Eye, Playful Eye invites readers on a thoughtful journey through museums, with 101 practices designed to nurture the development of attention, creativity, and compassion. This book encourages a playful and reflective approach to the museum experience of viewing art, sculptures, fossils, jewelry, aircraft, and more, including suggestions to:

• Imagine an object features prominently in a film or novel. What role does it play in a love story, thriller, and sci-fi?
• Pose to mirror a piece and consider the emotions and sensations that arise.
• Encounter as many objects as you can while holding your breath.
• Switch between scientific and empathic modes of viewing an object.

Activities include instructions for both individual and partnered exploration. Whether frequenting a favorite museum or exploring an unfamiliar one, this book will enrich solo trips and add a unique element to romantic or friend dates, making you feel more connected with yourself and any participating partner. Practices are divided into 5 categories:

• Body explores how your body responds to museum objects.
• Vision challenges established visual habits and encourages experimentation.
• Mind focuses on thoughts and feelings that animate your inner world.
• Imagination encourages you to imagine new ways of being.
• Action transforms you into an art maker and performance artist.

The practices can be performed in any museum in the world. Mindful Eye, Playful Eye empowers museumgoers to encounter museum collections, themselves, and each other with heightened awareness, centeredness, and a sense of unabashed joy.