Restoration through Mindful Slow Engagement: A Case Study of a Community of Practice in Art Museum Education
Society for Art Education of Korea September 1, 2026 DOI: 10.25297/aer.2026.99.1.359 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 14 |
| Population | Adult museum visitors participating as a community of practice, plus a facilitator |
| Interventions | Meditation garden walking contour drawing reading of the artist's statements |
| Keywords | Education |
| Key findings | The authors report that a program of meditation, garden walking, contour drawing, and reading artist statements produced experiences of emotional well-being, sensory recovery, and self-awareness among 14 adult participants, along with mutual learning and unanticipated responses. They argue that "mindful slow engagement" can serve as a pathway to restoration in museums, shaped by the specific conditions of the site. |
Abstract
This case study explores the restorative value of mindful slow experiences in museums at a time when rapid viewing has become increasingly commonplace. Practices discussed under various terms, including mindfulness in museums and therapeutic museums, are encompassed within the concept of “mindful engagement,” which is then combined with “slow experience,” grounded in practices of sustained viewing such as Slow Art and Slow Looking, to formulate an operational definition of “mindful slow engagement.” A program of meditation, garden walking, contour drawing, and reading of the artist's statements was developed and implemented at the Hoam Museum of Art in 2026, in relation to the exhibition Kim Yun Shin: Add Two Add One, Divide Two Divide One. Fourteen adults and a facilitator participated as a community of practice, and their experiences were analyzed through post-program questionnaires and group discussion records. The findings revealed three dimensions of experience — emotional well-being, sensory recovery, and self-awareness — along with experiences outside these dimensions, including mutual learning among participants and unanticipated responses. This study confirms that mindful slow engagement can serve as a pathway to restoration in museums and describes how it was shaped by the specific conditions of the site.