Polaroids. Pinecones. Peace.
Quiet Moments was a community-focused exhibition presented at the Space for Creative Change in March 2022, in response to the war on Ukraine and the ongoing strain of the pandemic. It was intended as a gentle intervention — a space for nervous system rest, reflection, and community reconnection.
Rooted in the ethos of slow art and ecological attentiveness, Quiet Moments invited participants into a series of sensory and contemplative engagements. These quiet acts of noticing and co-creation became tools for personal grounding and collective care.
Three participatory prompts guided the exhibition experience:
Slow Art Polaroid Viewing encouraged visitors to spend extended, mindful time with instant film photographs — a practice of looking slowly, resisting speed and consumption. Insights were then shared with others.
‘Befriend a Pinecone’ invited a multi-sensory encounter with a pinecone, drawing attention to the quiet presence, wisdom and even humour of the more-than-human world. There was again the invitation to share experiences, creating opportunities for shared story-telling.
‘Non-Violent Recipes for Peace on Earth’ this shared text wall invited visitors to respond to two questions: What is required for peace on Earth? and How do we create true friendship between different cultures and nations? Contributions — words, quotes, reflections — were added in any language, forming collaborative, evolving pieces of text-based artwork.
Together, these interventions created a quiet, participatory sanctuary for peace-building, interconnection, and ecological attunement — a space where community care could be practiced through attention, slowness, and shared imagination.