It all started off innocently enough. I was newly engaged, and it was time to design ‘Save the Date’ announcements for our upcoming wedding. I wanted a beautiful image to go behind the text. Luckily, I had just spent an afternoon in the Musée du Louvre’s Department of Islamic Art and my memory was saturated with colorful [...]
Read MoreValentine's Day is upon us again. Commercial though it may be, I have always liked this holiday. I'll take any excuse to celebrate love! This year, I am organizing a Valentine's Day get together at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. I've crafted some love-themed activities and mapped out the paintings that depict love in various forms [...]
Read MoreThis painting, this fête galante, full of lovers in a garden, is a celebration of flirtation and love. While the young lovers are the focal point of the painting, a full half of the painting is dedicated to the landscape, to the architecture, to the physicality of the scene. As I looked at this painting by Nicolas Lancret, newly [...]
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 an installment of Creative July on the theme of Love (f you missed it, check out a description of the project here!) One of the most beautiful expressions of love is touch. So, I went on a photo safari in the Louvre's Ancient Egypt galleries, on the hunt for touch. A photo safari is a visit to a museum focusing on details found [...]
Read MoreThis month’s creativity theme is… LOVE! Throughout the month of July (in preparation for a certain upcoming wedding), Garlands in Paris will be looking at art and museums through the lens of amour. I am very excited for this theme, and have some fun surprises in store for the month. Feel free to join me! Share your creative [...]
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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.
