The Art Engager

In this episode Claire Bown is joined by Dr Beth Daley, novelist, creative writing tutor and editorial advisor at Europeana, to explore how digital cultural heritage collections can become starting points for storytelling, exploration and creative engagement.
Europeana brings together millions of artworks, objects, photographs, films, texts and archival materials from museums, libraries and archives across Europe. But access alone is not enough. Beth shares how the platform invites people to move from browsing to creating through prompts, activities, and collaborative spaces.
This episode will resonate with anyone working in museums, galleries or cultural institutions who is interested in using digital collections as a starting point for storytelling, creative engagement and new ways of working with cultural heritage.
The Art Engager is written and presented by Claire Bown. Editing is by Matt Jacobs and Claire Bown. Music by Richard Bown. Support on Patreon
Episode Links:
Dr Beth Daley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-daley-a032b537/
https://www.europeana.eu/
https://pro.europeana.eu/post/join-our-events-for-writers-and-get-creative-with-cultural-heritage - this one covers all our activities including the following:
https://pro.europeana.eu/event/europeana-writers-room-monthly-creative-writing-workshops - Europeana Writers' Room registration
https://www.europeana.eu/en/stories/six-ways-to-play-with-europeana-story-dice - Europeana story dice
https://pro.europeana.eu/page/seven-tips-for-digital-storytelling - in 16 languages
https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-daley-a032b537/ - my LinkedIn profile
https://bethdaley.substack.com/ - my Substack page
Europeana's social media:
https://www.facebook.com/Europeana
https://bsky.app/profile/europeana.bsky.social
https://www.linkedin.com/company/europeana
https://www.instagram.com/europeana_eu/
Show Links:
✨ If you've enjoyed this episode, please consider supporting The Art Engager on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheArtEngager
Or pick up a copy of my book, The Art Engager, for step-by-step guidance on creating meaningful, interactive guided experiences https://www.theartengager.com/
Buy it here on Amazon.com: https://tinyurl.com/buytheartengager

In this episode Claire Bown is joined by Georgia Close and Harriet Body from the National Gallery of Australia, alongside Naomi Zouwer from the University of Canberra, to explore how the gallery co-designed its Creative Learning approach.
The conversation traces an 18-month process of articulating a shared pedagogical framework shaped by national context, cultural responsibility, and First Nations-led principles. Rather than adopting an existing model, the team worked through workshops, observation, interviews and iterative “campaigns” to develop a cohesive, values-led approach.
A key commitment was centring the artist’s voice, placing artist intention in conversation with students’ existing knowledge. From this, the team developed a Creative Learning strategy planning tool that supports inquiry-led, multimodal, embodied and reflective practice.
Across the episode, they explore:
How to develop a context-specific learning approach rather than importing a model
What it means in practice to centre the artist’s voice
How small, iterative “campaigns” can embed reflective practice in a team
How multimodality and embodiment deepen engagement beyond discussion
Why joy is understood as a serious pedagogical commitment
What co-design and participatory action research look like inside a museum setting

This episode will resonate with anyone working in museums, galleries or cultural institutions who is thinking carefully about pedagogy, reflective practice, and how to articulate an approach that genuinely reflects their context and values.
The Art Engager is written and presented by Claire Bown. Editing is by Matt Jacobs and Claire Bown. Music by Richard Bown. Support on Patreon
Episode Links:
https://nga.gov.au/learn/our-creative-learning-approach/
The Creative Learning Project Digital Publication: https://nga.gov.au/media/dd/documents/NGA_The_Creative_Learning_Project_Digital_Publication.pdf
Zouwer, N. & Hamilton, O. (2026). The Creative Learning Project: Defining the National Gallery of Australia’s Creative Learning Approach. 10.13140/RG.2.2.35063.28324
Zouwer, N., Hamilton, O., Menser Hearn, N., & Ali, I. (2026). Using Practice-Based Methods to Co-create, Define, and Articulate a New Approach to Art Education in the National Gallery of Australia. Australian Journal of Education, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00049441261421257
Georgia Close, Head of Learning, National Gallery of Australia
Harriet Body, Creative Learning Convenor, National Gallery of Australia
Harriet Body on LinkedIn
Naomi Zouwer, artist, teacher, and researcher. Lecturer of Creative Arts Teacher Education and a researcher in the Centre of Advanced Education Studies (CASE) in the Faculty of Education at the University of Canberra.
Naomi Zouwer on LinkedIn
Naomi’s website https://www.zouwer.com/
The Centre for Advanced Studies in Education (CASE)
https://www.canberra.edu.au/research/centres/case
Show Links:
✨ If you've enjoyed this episode, please consider supporting The Art Engager on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheArtEngager
Or pick up a copy of my book, The Art Engager, for step-by-step guidance on creating meaningful, interactive guided experiences https://www.theartengager.com/
Buy it here on Amazon.com: https://tinyurl.com/buytheartengager

In this episode Claire Bown is joined by Clare Murray to explore how early encounters with art and museums shape the way people learn to participate, belong, and engage over time.
Our conversation focuses on how what Clare describes as museum habits of mind begin forming early in life, shaped by access, culture, and experience, and what can be at risk when early encounters with art and museums are uneven, delayed, or absent.
Clare’s perspective is shaped by her work as co-founder and executive director of cARTie, Connecticut’s first nonprofit art museum bus for young children, alongside her doctoral research into how people come to understand what museums are and who they are for. She describes research and practice as running in parallel, rather than as separate phases.
The conversation looks at why early childhood matters as a time when confidence, hesitation, and ways of taking part in museum-like spaces begin to take shape. Clare shares what she notices when children encounter art and museum environments for the first time, and what they appear to be learning beyond information about the artworks themselves.
Across the episode, they reflect on:
how early encounters with art begin to shape museum habits of mind
how confidence and hesitation show up and evolve through repeated encounters
what children seem to pick up about how to take part in museum-like spaces
what can be missed when access to art and museum experiences is uneven or delayed
how research and practice can run in parallel, with each informing the other

This episode will be of interest to anyone working with children, art, or learning spaces, and to museum educators, guides, and facilitators interested in how early experiences shape longer-term relationships with museums.
The Art Engager is written and presented by Claire Bown. Editing is by Matt Jacobs and Claire Bown. Music by Richard Bown. Support on Patreon
Episode Links:
Clare Murray on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/murrayclare
Museum Design with, by and for Children: Innovative, International Approaches https://www.routledge.com/Museum-Design-with-by-and-for-Children-Innovative-International-Approaches/Murray/p/book/9781032774404
cARTie https://www.cartie.org/
cARTie on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ctcartie/
Show Links
✨ If you've enjoyed this episode, please consider supporting The Art Engager on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheArtEngager
Or pick up a copy of my book, The Art Engager, for step-by-step guidance on creating meaningful, interactive guided experiences https://www.theartengager.com/
Buy it here on Amazon.com: https://tinyurl.com/buytheartengager

In this episode, Claire Bown is joined by Laurie Kilgour Walsh, Head of Programs and Learning at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, to explore what it takes to create meaningful, person-centred museum experiences with and for people living with dementia.
Our conversation centres on Artful Moments, a gallery-based, small-group programme for people living with dementia and their care partners. Based at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the programme supports shared experiences, connection, and wellbeing through guided engagement with artworks.
In this episode, we talk about:
What Artful Moments is and how the programme was developed in collaboration with healthcare partners
How assumptions shifted as the work developed, and what has helped sustain the work over time.
What person-centred practice looks like in programme design and in the moment as a facilitator
Planning with care while staying responsive to participants during each session
Why success in this work is understood through connection and wellbeing rather than traditional learning outcomes
What an Artful Moments session looks like in practice, from first communication and arrival to gallery conversations, making activities, and leaving the museum
Why attention to the whole visit experience really matters

A great listen if you are developing or evolving programmes for people living with dementia, or are interested in how dementia-inclusive practice can inform everyday museum engagement and deepen your approach to inclusion, pacing, and person-centred facilitation.
Laurie is also the co-author of Artful Moments: Building Meaningful Museum Experiences for People Living with Dementia, which is discussed throughout the episode.
The Art Engager is written and presented by Claire Bown. Editing is by Matt Jacobs and Claire Bown. Music by Richard Bown. Support on Patreon
Episode Links
Art Gallery of Hamilton website: www.artgalleryofhamilton.com
Artful Moments eLearning site: www.artfulmoments.ca
A link to the book - Artful Moments: Building Meaningful Museum Experiences for People Living with Dementia : https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/artful-moments-9781538195420/
Laurie's two favourite videos from the website:
Janis’s Story https://vimeo.com/801998446/77939bc3d0
Rosemary's story: https://vimeo.com/809930852/fb94d13a5d
Also:
An article about virtual programs (2022) https://www.artgalleryofhamilton.com/artful-moments-fostering/
A lovely review of the website by Dementia Trust (2024): https://dementiatrust.org/news-and-views/25/2/2025/review-artful-moments
Artful Moments also included in Chapter 4 of this book (2024): https://www.intellectbooks.com/art-education-in-canadian-museums
An article on our early work: Artful Moments: A framework for successful engagement in an arts-based programme for persons in the middle to late stages of dementia (2019) by Janis Humphrey, Maureen Montemuro, Esther Coker, Laurie Kilgour-Walsh, Katherine Moros, Carmen Murray, Shannon Stanners DOI: 10.1177/1471301217744025
Show Links
✨ If you've enjoyed this episode, please consider supporting The Art Engager on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheArtEngager
Or pick up a copy of my book, The Art Engager, for step-by-step guidance on creating meaningful, interactive guided experiences https://www.theartengager.com/
Buy it here on Amazon.com: https://tinyurl.com/buytheartengager

In this episode, host Claire Bown is joined by Menka Sanghvi, researcher, writer, guide and founder of Just Looking. Menka’s work explores attention through science, culture and creativity, and encourages us to slow down and notice more in our everyday lives.
Together, we talk about why ordinary moments matter, how our attentional filters shape what we see and the social dimension of noticing. We also explore the pull of digital technology, the difference between algorithmic seeing and intentional looking, and how small shifts can help us reclaim our attention.
Whether you work with visitors in museums, guide groups through artworks or simply want to nurture a more spacious way of looking, this conversation offers practical ideas you can apply directly to your facilitation practice (and to your life!).
The Art Engager is written and presented by Claire Bown. Editing is by Matt Jacobs and Claire Bown. Music by Richard Bown. Support on Patreon
Episode Links
Menka is the founder of Just Looking, a global community of people looking at everyday life with slowness and curiosity. She is also the co-author of Your Best Digital Life. Her work invites people to notice more, reflect more and reconnect with both the digital and physical worlds.
Just Looking newsletter
Just Looking’s Instagram
60 Experiments in Looking
Your Best Digital Life
Menka Sanghvi’s website
Show Links
✨ If you've enjoyed this episode, please consider supporting The Art Engager on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheArtEngager
Or pick up a copy of my book, The Art Engager, for step-by-step guidance on creating meaningful, interactive guided experiences https://www.theartengager.com/
Buy it here on Amazon.com: https://tinyurl.com/buytheartengager