In today's solo episode, host Claire Bown focusing on one of the key Questioning Practices from her book, The Art Engager: Reimagining Guided Experiences in Museums. 

In this episode, we’ll be exploring The Universal Questioning Practice in detail, how it came about and how you can use it with art and objects. 

The Universal is an all-purpose and versatile Questioning Practice that can be applied to all types of art and objects, across any museum setting.

The Universal's 4 stages provide a logical structure to guide conversations around artworks and objects. This episode explores takes an in-depth look at how to use the Universal Questioning Practice to support your guided experiences.

Links

'The Art Engager: Reimagining Guided Experiences in Museums' is now available worldwide through your favourite online platforms and retailers. Buy it here on Amazon.com: https://tinyurl.com/buytheartengager

The Art Engager book website: https://www.theartengager.com/

Support the show with a simple monthly subscription on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheArtEngager

Hello and welcome to The Art Engager podcast.

I'm Claire Bown, here to help you create more engaging experiences

in museums and cultural spaces.

This podcast is all about unlocking the potential of engagement.

We'll be exploring key practices that transform how you connect with

art, objects, people, and ideas.

Together we'll dive into techniques that spark curiosity, foster dialogue,

and build deeper connections.

Let's get started with today's episode.

Hello, and welcome to a new episode of The Art Engager.

Today, I've got another solo episode for you.

This week, I'm focusing on one of the key Questioning Practices from

my book, The Art Engager, Reimagining Guided Experiences in Museums.

In this episode, we'll be exploring The Universal Questioning Practice in detail.

We'll look at how it came about and how you can use it with art and objects.

And if you haven't already, do go back and listen to the last episode, episode 1 3 6,

all about what Questioning Practices are, why I created them, and how they can help

you to create engaging museum experiences.

And you can now support The Art Engager through a simple

monthly subscription on Patreon.

So if you've benefited from the content on this podcast and want to help keep

it going strong into the future, please consider supporting us each month.

Your support will ensure I can continue bringing you engaging content.

You'll find all the details in the show notes.

Now let's get on with today's show.

I'm so happy that my book The Art Engager is now out into the world.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out over the past couple

of weeks to say congratulations and to let me know you bought the book.

I've really loved seeing photos of The Art Engager in new homes all over

the world and I've loved hearing about how much you're enjoying reading it.

A few stats, The Art Engager has been a number one new release and a number one

bestseller in its categories on Amazon and on the same day also made it to

the top 100 books in the Netherlands.

So please help me spread the word about the book.

You can do this in a number of ways.

You can write a short review of The Art Engager on Amazon, Goodreads,

or your favorite book platform.

You can post a photo or a video on social media with The Art Engager.

Maybe it's the book arriving, or your favorite quotes, or

maybe some of the Questioning Practices in action at your museum.

I'd love to see it, so do tag me in.

You can also share The Art Engager with friends and colleagues, or

maybe you want to suggest the book for your next book club read.

If you do, I'd be happy to join a virtual Q& A session.

And last but not least, come to our online book launch event on 12th of November.

2024.

It's going to be taking place at 6pm Central European Time.

I'll put the details for the launch event in the show notes so that

you can sign up and I'll also put a link to buy the book there too.

So as we discussed last week, The Art Engager introduces you

to 10 Questioning Practices.

And Questioning Practices, what are they?

Well, they are structured sets of questions or prompts designed to

guide inquiry, stimulate critical thinking, and facilitate learning.

They help educators, like you and me, facilitate discussions

about art and objects and engage participants deeply in the process.

In this episode, we'll look at The Universal Questioning Practice in detail.

The Universal is an all purpose and versatile Questioning Practice that

can be applied to all types of art and objects and is suitable for every kind

of guided experience in any museum.

It really is universal.

It uses four questions.

One, what do you notice?

Two, what questions come to mind?

Three, what might this be about?

And four, what insights did you gain?

So The Universal evolved from my research into questioning

strategies during my master's thesis.

Through studying various questioning frameworks both within and beyond

museums, I found that the components of a successful universal framework follow a

structured progression from observation to inquiry, interpretation, and reflection.

And The Universal echoes this structure of a well rounded discussion,

something I talk about in the book called the Discussion Cycle.

So the four steps in The Universal, enhance observation skills, encourage

critical thinking, facilitate interpretation, and promote reflection.

And from my experience facilitating art and object inquiries using The Universal,

it's the combination of these four steps together that creates the most engaging

and thought provoking discussions.

So, how to use it.

This Questioning Practice is intended to be used universally

with all types of groups and with all types of artworks and objects.

It can be used with a huge variety of materials.

I've used The Universal with paintings, sculpture, historical design and everyday

objects, out and about in nature and with buildings to name but a few examples.

It works just as well.

in art museums, as it does in historical, ethnographical, science

museums, and historic houses.

It is adaptable, easy to use, and naturally leads to open ended inquiry

amongst all types of participant groups.

And it can also be applied in a wide variety of different situations,

circumstances, and environments.

The four simple stages: Look, Question, Interpret, Reflect,

guide and focus conversations around art and objects seamlessly.

So instead of feeling stuck in a program and wondering what question to ask next,

you can lean on the logical structure of The Universal to support you.

So as this is a core Questioning Practice and the first one you should

get to know, today we're going to have an in depth look at how to use it.

So there are four stages, as we've already talked about, Look,

Question, Interpret, and Reflect.

But before you ask any questions, ask participants to first observe,

observe the artwork or object in front of them for a short time.

period of time.

Now, as we've talked about before on this podcast, this can take place

individually and in silence, or as a discussion in pairs, or the educator

can guide the observation for the group using a variety of different techniques.

This period of looking is very important.

So, after a period of time spent looking, ask the question, What do you notice?

So this simple question encourages full observation and description.

It allows participants to build an inventory of details and helps them

to avoid jumping to conclusion.

Observation sets the stage the foundation for deeper inquiry by ensuring that

all participants see the whole picture.

And the first question in The Universal sets the stage for the second question.

You'll find that after a period of time spent observing and describing,

your group will naturally move towards asking questions and

wondering about the artwork or object.

So question two is, what questions come to mind?

So after describing the artwork, invite participants to ask questions.

So as I said, this second step mirrors the natural curiosity that arises

when you look at art or objects.

And sharing questions helps to reveal what participants are curious about.

And in turn, it also opens up new lines of inquiry, and it also gives

us as educators space to share relevant knowledge when we need to.

And by these first two stages, so observing, describing, and then

wondering fully, you will have plenty of ideas on which to base

interpretations in the third step.

So let's move on.

to step number three.

The third question is, what might this be about?

So this third broad and open question allows participants to

interpret the object or artwork from multiple perspectives and

crucially it can be customized.

So there are several different types of interpretation that

we can focus on when we create discussions around art and objects.

It might be thematic, symbolic, contextual,

stylistic, personal, and so on.

So by modifying the question, you can guide your participants to engage

with the object in a way that aligns with your goals, or in a way that

resonates more deeply with them.

As with any variation, I would always encourage you to get to know the

question as it is written first, before you start experimenting.

And this brings us to the final question, what insights did you gain?

So this final step brings the discussion full circle by allowing participants

to reflect on their experience.

It's an open ended question that encourages participants to consolidate

their thoughts, share personal responses, and to reflect on their

observations, the interactions that have happened, and any insights.

And this step is important.

It promotes metacognition and it really helps to enrich the

experience by asking participants to think about the process, what has

happened and their learning journey.

So now that we've looked at the four steps, what about some tips for using it?

So I recommend getting to know The Universal before you introduce any other

Questioning Practices into the mix.

So knowing The Universal really well will enhance your ability to

facilitate engaging discussions around art and objects.

It really lays the foundations for productive museum inquiry..

In addition, Universal is really easy to set up and straightforward to use.

It is self explanatory and multi purpose as the name suggests.

So familiarise yourself with it exactly as it is written.

Try it out with a variety of different materials, artworks and objects, and

with a variety of different groups, even at different times of the day.

Really embrace the process of the Questioning Practice and the

rich discussion that follows.

Get a feel for the questions and actively reflect after each use.

And I would urge you to approach The Universal As a practice,

something we talked about last week about why I chose the word

practice over routine or framework.

So approach The Universal really as a practice rather than simply

an activity or an exercise.

Really reflect actively after each use.

And after several sessions it will start to feel natural, fluid and easy to use.

And the aim of using this over and over again in a variety of different ways

is to internalize this core Questioning Practice as part of the invisible

infrastructure of your discussions.

Over time you will naturally Make it your own while also staying

true to its values and principles.

And once this happens, once you feel that you've internalized it and you're

starting to make it your own, then you can start to add new Questioning Practices

to your repertoire to supplement.

The Universal.

So let's recap what we've covered today.

So we've looked at The Universal, a core Questioning Practice

with four simple steps.

Observation, Inquiry, Interpretation, Reflection.

There are four questions in The Universal.

What do you notice?

What questions come to mind?

What might this be about?

And what insights did you gain?

The Universal guides meaningful conversations and can be adapted

with any artwork or object.

Start with The Universal, get comfortable with it, and then

explore other Questioning Practices to enhance your discussions.

So that's it for today.

I hope you've enjoyed exploring The Universal.

Thanks for listening.

Don't forget to check out my book, The Art Engager, on my website and to pick

up your copy wherever books are sold.

And do join us on November the 12th for the online book launch.

I'll put links in the show notes.

See you next time.

Bye!

You've been

listening to The Art Engager podcast with me, Claire Bown.

For more resources and inspiration, go to thinkingmuseum.

com and follow me on social media at Thinking Museum for regular

insights and practical tips on the art of engagement in museums.

If you've enjoyed the show, please share it with others and follow the

podcast so you never miss an episode.

Thanks for listening and I'll see you next time.