About the Mindful Art Encounters association.
-
Art appeals to our senses in a variety of ways. These sensual stimuli help the way into a meditative state. It becomes easier to experiencing the moment and to becoming aware of world. While listening to the mindfulness exercises, visitors become aware of their own perceptions and body sensations, enabling a state of inner peace.
MAE works with certified mindfulness teachers who are trained in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) method and are members of the Mindfulness Swiss association. Developed in the 80’s at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine by John Kabat-Zinn, this method has been used in treating stress-related diseases, such as heart attack, depression and burnout.
-
MAE’s projects use spaces and works of art from permanent collections as resources: providing art lovers an opportunity to experience the familiar in a surprising new way and potentially reaching new audience groups.
This independent and easy-to-integrate offer is made available to museums and online visitors free of charge by MAE.
The digital networking of the individual projects creates an open access platform that connects museums and collections from all over Switzerland.
-
Mindful Art Encounters (MAE) projects are organized and financed by a Zurich-based association under Swiss law (Art. 60 ff ZGB).
Testimonials.
“For some years now, the term ‘mindfulness’ has been very popular and a veritable movement has emerged in a wide variety of areas such as pedagogy or psychology. Unfortunately, this movement is not an expression of increasing mindfulness, but of a more widespread carelessness in our society. We are becoming more and more careless when it comes to sensory overload and acceleration. This makes projects such as the Mindful Art Encounters Art programs all the more important, because this is where real mindfulness takes place. Without having to register for a mindfulness course, but in a place where we encounter art. If we receive help to become present mindfully, we are of course touched by art in a different way than by a pure observation from our everyday consciousness. As a result, we are touched more intensely by art and at the same time make an experience of how relaxing and touching mindfulness can be. Therefore, I am very happy that this project exists and would wish many museum visitors to be able to experience the guidance to pause, to watch and to accept.”
– Andreas Knuf is psychological psychotherapist, supervisor and mindfulness teacher. He is author of numerous publications on various topics and mindfulness and bestselling author of "Ruhe da oben".
Our Board of Directors.
-
Ursula Frischknecht Tobler
«Being awake to the richness of the present offers each of us new and often quite unexpected possibilities worth discovering and nourish our spirit of exploration.»
Ursula Frischknecht-Tobler was a lecturer for “Mensch-Natur-Gesellschaft” at the College of Education in St. Gallen (Pädagoische Hochschule). In active retirement, she is President of Mindfulness.Swiss (until 2022). She promotes projects such as Mindful Art Encounters and offers courses and workshops on mindfulness and compassion for individuals, schools and organizations in Eastern Switzerland.
-
Cosima Rahmann
“Some works of art have been my companions for many years now: when I envision them in my mind’s eye, I relive the joy of discovery, the feeling of inner peace, the impulse to perceive my body or to appreciate everyday trifles and certain moments. I feel alive.”
President of the Board and Founder of Mindful Art Encounters, Cosima Rahmann consults and supports artists and estate managers as a mediator in conflict situations and estate planning.
-
Florian Rahmann
"Mindful presence is the key to connecting with everything that is relevant to us. We can experience this either with our eyes open, like a work of art in a museum or our counterpart at lunch, or with our eyes closed, when we connect with things we can't see. Through mindful presence, I experience the world more consciously and fully in its wonderful diversity."
Florian Rahmann is a partner at the asset manager "Survista Financial Advisors", a coach for dogs and humans and an animal communicator.
Thank You!
We thank you, dear readers, for your time and willingness to familiarize yourself with our project!! Ursula Frischknecht, President Mindfulness.Swiss, and the members of the Mindfulness Swiss core team Isolde Reber, Andrea Mock, Regine Meier for their dedication and passion. Sara Smidt, Head of Art Education Kirchner Museum Davos, and Silja Burch, Head of Art Education Aargauer Kunsthaus, for their support and their great commitment. Psychologist and author Andreas Knuf for his wonderful testimonial. Erica Benz-Steffen, former Head of Literature Promotion Pro Helvetia, Pascha Azure, Kristian Bader, Petra Göhrum, Christy Miller and Tomas Rodak for their valuable feedback and friendship.