I have lived in Montreal for six months, and I have visited six museums. The shame! There are over forty museums on the island, so a grand total of six museums (albeit visited multiple times) is not a great batting average. I've had a lot on my plate with adjusting to life in Montreal: finding and fluffing a nest, dealing with Canadian immigration, and figuring out what my [...]
Read MoreMuseums can be very romantic places. My favorite museum dates have been in quiet, off the beaten track institutions with eclectic collections. These places facilitate good conversations and set a mood for the whole encounter. You can really get to know someone by hearing his or her reactions to an artwork or artifact [...]
Read MoreThis is my fourth Halloween in Paris, and I'm getting really excited to celebrate. As I've mentioned before, holidays are an important part of expat life. While I might not have made a big deal about Halloween in America, I get really excited about costumes and decorations in France. I'm in the midst of getting ready for this year's decorations [ ... ]
Read MoreLadies and Gentlemen, my thesis is done! In honor of finishing my Master's degree, I present to you The Panic Attack! One night, after a particularly rough night working on my thesis, I decided to make myself a cocktail treat. Finding only rye and cider in my kitchen, a quick Google search led me to a recipe for a [ ... ]
Read MoreI am in the midst of finishing a 150 page thesis (in French) about mobile apps in temporary exhibitions in Parisian museums. It is eating me alive. Needless to say, stress is a constant presence in my life right now. I've been fighting back with an arsenal of calming techniques, including candlelight, [ ... ]
Read MoreI found myself in the midst of a polar vortex for my birthday this year, at the tail end of visit to my family in the Midwest. In the midst of record-breaking amounts of snow, I decided to throw a small party with hints of Spring. There would be roses, punch, and lots and lots of streamers. When I was a little girl, my idea of [ ... ]
Read MoreI once went to a dinner party where an American made a big pot of chili for her French guests. While we Americans found the amount of spice to be mild, our French friends’ eyes teared up and we had to open the windows. So when I found myself hosting a dinner party for three French friends, Tex-Mex was [ ... ]
Read MoreAs someone who used to think that cocktails were servings of alcohol with so much sugar as to be crunchy, it has taken the coaching of many knowledgeable and talented friends to convince me not only that cocktails are worth my time, but that they can be an art. I have gone through several deviations on [ ... ]
Read MoreA dear friend’s 30th birthday was approaching. To celebrate reaching the end of her 20’s, she decided to have a Roaring Twenties party. She has mad mixology skills, so a major highlight of the evening would be the specially selected, Prohibition Era cocktails. To prepare for the evening, she had [ ... ]
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This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer.
IMAGINIBUS is a blog about playing in museums, with a focus on imagination and creativity.
This blog is a place to be inspired to use your imagination around artworks—and to see the art of your daily life.
When we engage creatively with art, museums can become playgrounds and laboratories to experiment with attention, mindfulness, and imagination. Interesting things happen when we use that museum gaze to look at our daily lives like a work of art.
Find more inspiration for playing with new ways of paying attention to your daily life here.
Hello! I'm Marina Gross-Hoy, a writer, Museum Studies PhD candidate, and mother currently living in Quebec. I take playing in museums very seriously.
Read more about the blog here.
Check out my newsletter on Substack to be inspired to see the art in your daily life.
