Maríanna Eva Dúfa Sævarsdóttir
Maríanna Eva Dúfa Sævarsdóttir graduates with a master's degree and teaching license from the art education department in the spring of 2026
„Stay and smell the flowers“
Slow vision with young people in vocational rehabilitation at Kjarvalsstaðir
This essay argues that slow-watching in an art museum, as part of the current museum education, can enhance the well-being, attention and participation of young people in vocational rehabilitation The study is based on an eight-week slow-watching course at Kjarvalsstaðir in collaboration with Víðsjá, where work was done with works of art in a calm and predictable framework that took into account the day's form and the perception of the participants.
The study is a qualitative work-related study and data was obtained from field notes and
audio recordings of class conversations, as well as participants at the end of a course offered to answer an anonymous electronic survey, more accessible through a QR scan The data was analyzed using thematic analysis according to Braun and Clarke.
Results show that slow-watching can support deeper attention and enhance image literacy, with participants moving from an overall view to detail, noting nuances and finding words for perception and meaning Participants also expressed increased calm and that the museum space could provide security and freedom to be themselves, although sometimes there would be disuse when internal stress or sensory stimuli were high The essay highlights which elements of the course's framework, communication and education support or impede participation and presents practical suggestions for developing an inclusive museum education for youth in vocational rehabilitation.
Supervisors: Gunndís Ýr Finnbogadóttir and Kristín Valsdóttir
30 ECTS Arts and Welfare
2026
Maríanna Eva Dúfa Sævarsdóttir is an artist, museum teacher and graduate student from the master's program in arts and welfare at the Iceland Academy of the Arts. She has worked for years at the Reykjavík Art Museum, both in reception and museum education, and is particularly interested in how art museums can become more accessible, validating and nourishing spaces for a diverse group of visitors. In her work and research, she works with the relationship between art, well-being, perception and participation, with an emphasis on slowness, museum education and social activity.
