​Expanding established engagement practices, The Playful Eye is an adventurous exploration of art and self,
​combining elements of mindfulness, embodiment and imagination.

About

The Playful Eye inspires novel experiences for everyone who yearns to find meaning and connection, within themselves and others. Playful Eye events have taken place across the world, including both in-person and virtual sessions, targeting broad and special audiences as well as museum educators and professionals. Through our interactive and immersive virtual sessions, we connect a global audience. 

Museums which have held Playful Eye sessions include the National Gallery of Art (Canberra), the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane), the Olbricht Foundation’s Collectors’ Room (Berlin), Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art (Freer Sackler Galleries, Washington DC), J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles), and the Gapar Aitiev Kyrgyz National Museum of Fine Art (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan).


​Participant Voices


  • "It gave me new insights into the act of looking and the place of empathy. There was a sense of calm, peace and connection. I noticed detail and relationships between parts of the painting and ideas within the work that I haven’t noticed before."

  • "It is my sincere desire that humanity will spend more time creating, observing and experiencing art, and your workshops addresses on these points beautifully."
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  • "Thank you so much for this event. It was absolutely bloody amazing!!!! I would LOVE to know about more of these sessions. It was mind expanding and hilarious. It was just such a great session."


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​The Book 

Experience art and design as you’ve never experienced them before with 101 imaginative, mindfulness-based practices that will engage your senses, open your mind, and transform your next museum visit.

Mindful Eye, Playful Eye invites you on a thoughtful journey through museums, with 101 practices for both individual and partnered exploration. This book will enrich solo trips and add a unique element of connection to romantic or friend dates. 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.

Want to Collaborate?

Click below to download our workshop and program brochure.

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Meet the Founders

Michael Garbutt, Ph.D and Nico Roenpagel, Ph.D. first met one auspicious afternoon about a hundred moons ago. At that time, Michael was teaching at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Faculty of Art & Design, while Nico was dancing his PhD at the same institution. 

Currently, Michael researches the embodied visual experience of art museum visitors and Nico brings compassion-based leadership to companies in Germany. Sharing a fascination for the contemplative, awakened, and unfolding nature of human experience, their prolific collaboration to date has resulted in publications, a performance and exhibition … and now … The Playful Eye.

For the Mindful Eye, Playful Eye book, they joyfully conspired with Frank Feltens, Ph.D., curator of Japanese Art at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art.
We look forward to getting in touch! 

connect@playful-eye.com
Photo Credit for all demonstration images on this site: Chloe Callistemon @ QAGOMA, 2019
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