What happens when we slow down enough to notice our everyday surroundings? In this creative workshop, artist Nael Quraishi invites you to experiment with his methodology of Slowing Down – people watching, enjoying views, doing nothing but always doing something – and being aware of your visual intake in detail.

You are invited to explore the Oude Westen neighbourhood in detail; encouraged to sit, watch, write and photograph. Notice the small details that often go unseen: fragments of conversations, changing light, passing strangers, familiar sounds and unexpected encounters. Back at OMI, you’ll translate the documented notes into graphic stories with the guidance of Nael. 

No graphic experience necessary!

This workshop is a part of Current Traces #3: This Must Be the Place, exhibited at OMI Rotterdam until 25th July. Through the eyes of filmmaker and animator Tess Martin, architect Tov Frencken and artist Nael Quraishi, the exhibition invites you to look again at your surroundings – not as stable ground, but as an assemblage of past lives, memories and future desires.