WAM Collective is focusing on mindfulness this year. The museum's current and upcoming exhibitions and programs inspire critical thinking and cultivate a slow pace. We are joining the effort to promote a more inclusive campus climate that values the contemplation and discussion of mental health, equity, and diversity.

Art is a vital source for communication, for release, and for discovery. Engaging with an artist's work can provide a welcome distraction, or illustrate an unfamiliar perspective. Spending time at a museum or gallery can build empathy, inspire, and confuse. These valuable reactions provide information about personal identities, deepening relationships and self-awareness.  Sadly, "the average time spent on a piece [of art] is 17 seconds." Our programs, including Slow Art Day, seek to recover lost attention spans and reconnect viewers with art, community, and self-reflection.

The subject matter of our events and of our blog will carry out these ambitions, but we are working to expand and build lasting relationships online, with student memberships, with other student groups and in our personal or professional circles. We are making efforts to reformat our event evaluation forms, hold more dynamic meetings, interact personally with guests, and redefine our online presence.

The new WAM Collective blog is a destination for museum insider features, [local] [art] musings, food for thought, and visual inspiration. I'm Hannah, the new WAM Collective Media Manager, and I am so excited to share this space with you. Don't hesitate to e-mail me (germa117@umn.edu) with ideas, complaints, compliments, questions or design blog crushes.