It was turning into a rainy evening in Rome. The downpour was steady: persistent enough to slowly seep through my raincoat, but not aggressive enough to convince me to stop meandering through the drizzly streets, past intriguing old churches and lazily flowing fountains. Eventually, I made my way to […]
Read MoreOne of my favorite museums in the world is the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). Founded in 1852, it is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design. My last visit was in September 2012, when I was in London for a friend's birthday weekend. I may only have been in town for two days, but I [...]
Read MoreI visited the British Museum on an autumn afternoon a few years ago. The state of the ancient statuary struck me: most of these objects were scarred from their journeys through time. From small pockmarks to missing limbs, these statues had not escaped the passage of time unscathed. I reflected [...]
Read MoreThis summer, during my three-day retreat in the Met Museum, Museum Hack invited me on one of their Un-Highlights Tours. I had heard intriguing things about their museum tours, and I was excited to finally see for myself what all the buzz was about [...]
Read MoreLet's travel through time and space to colorful Giverny, France in the summer. Claude Monet made his home at Giverny for over 40 years, until his death in 1926. In the warm season, you can visit his house and studio, as well as the famous flowerbeds and reflecting pond that inspired his sublime paintings. To visit [...]
Read MoreNovember's museum theme is VOYAGES. Museums can take you places. This month, we'll be revisiting the theme of voyages in museums (again). This theme is so rich, that I thought it was worth revisiting. We'll be looking at museums while traveling; we'll travel in museums while staying put. We'll travel through time, exploring the past and imagining the [...]
Read MoreExactly four years ago, I found myself in Denmark. I had just survived my first semester at the École du Louvre. The term had culminated with eight exams in five days; each exam was basically a choice between two broad questions with three hours to answer one of them. I celebrated my birthday with an exam [...]
Read MoreMarch can be a really awkward month. Before the scent of springtime comes wafting in on April breezes, the last snowfalls of March must be endured. When I feel like I can't take one more minute of slush and ice, my mind wanders to far-off places. I dream of beaches in Bali or the mild grey of Paris. Even [...]
Read MoreIn honor of #MuseumWeek, the week-long celebration of museums on Twitter, this post is dedicated to today's theme of 'poses' (#poseMW). During a recent visit to the Groeningemuseum, a museum of Belgian art in Bruges, I was struck by the poses found in the paintings. These artists used bodies and gestures to convey [ ... ]
Read MoreI recently found myself in Abu Dhabi for a week. This was my first trip to the region, and I was excited to see the differences in culture, tastes, scents, the quality of light... On the plane, I was giddy when I saw on my seat's screen that we were flying over Mesopotamia and [ ... ]
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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.
