What is The Art of Attention?
The Art of Attention is an evolving series of artist-inspired reflective practice sessions exploring what artists can teach us about attention, reflection, and professional practice.
Each edition centres on a different artist, inviting us to borrow from their art and ways of working as a means of developing our own reflective capacity.
Rather than learning how to make art, we'll use artists' practices as companions for reflection, creating opportunities to slow down, notice differently, and think more deeply about ourselves and our professional lives.
Artists often return to the same questions throughout their lives.
Louise Bourgeois repeatedly revisited themes of memory, identity and repair as a way of paying attention.
In this 90-minute online session, we'll borrow from Louise Bourgeois' art and ways of working as an invitation into our own reflective practice.
Together we'll create the conditions for attention before moving through a simple reflective process of listening, noticing and capturing what feels most significant in our own professional lives.
This is an invitation to slow down, notice differently, and develop reflective capacity through connection with an artist’s practice.
No artistic experience required.
Before registering, please take a moment to read the Participation & Booking Terms available below
What to Expect from The Art of Attention
What we’ll explore
Together we’ll:
Gather what we need for reflective practice and create the conditions for attention
Listen to what is already present within outselves and our professional practice
Notice what draws our attention without rushing to explain or resolve it
Capture what matters through simple artist-inspired creative invitations
Why artist-inspired reflective practice?
Artists often cultivate ways of paying attention that can enrich our own reflective practice.
Rather than learning about art for its own sake, we’ll use an artist’s practice as a companion for reflection. We’ll borrow ways of noticing, experimenting, and sense-making to support the development of our own reflective capacity
Who is this for?
These sessions are designed for thoughtful practitioners, including:
Coaches and Coaching Psychologists
Supervisors
Therapists
Educators
Researchers
Anyone interested in developing their reflective practice
A note about the approach
These workshops are designed to support your existing reflective practice - they are not training in facilitating arts-based approaches with clients.
Participation & Booking Terms
Before You Book
The Art of Attention is designed to support your own reflective practice through artist-inspired creative invitations. Before booking, please take a moment to read the information below:
The nature of the workshop
These sessions are educational and developmental experiences designed to support your own reflective practice.
They are not coaching, coaching supervision, psychotherapy, counselling, or crisis support.
Creative reflection can sometimes bring unexpected thoughts, feelings, or memories into awareness. You are invited to engage with curiosity and at a pace that feels right for you. You are always welcome to adapt an activity, step back, or simply observe.
Before booking, please consider whether this feels like the right kind of reflective space for you at this time. If you’re currently experiencing significant distress or would benefit from more individualised support, another format may be more appropriate.
Participants remain responsible for their own well-being during and after the workshop, including accessing any additional personal or professional support they may need.
Booking and Cancellations
Your place is confirmed once payment has been received.
If you cancel your booking more than 48 hours before the workshop, you’ll receive a full refund.
Unfortunately, cancellations made within 48 hours of the workshop cannot normally be refunded.
If I need to cancel or postpone the workshop, you’ll be offered either a full refund or the opportunity to transfer your booking to a future edition.
Online Participation
Sessions take place live via Zoom. Joining information and a short materials list will be sent in advance of the workshop.
Participants are responsible for ensuring they have access to a suitable internet connection.
Confidentiality
These workshops invite personal reflection within a shared learning space. Participants are asked to respect the confidentiality of others and not share other participants’ reflections or creative work without their permission.
Intellectual Property
The Art of Attention is an original workshop series created by Beth Clare McManus.
All workshop materials, illustrations, handouts, slides, frameworks and reflective exercises remain the intellectual property of Beth Clare McManus unless otherwise stated, and are provided for your own personal reflective practice and professional development.
You're encouraged to draw on your learning and insights in your own ongoing reflective practice. However, attendance at a workshop does not grant permission to reproduce, teach, facilitate, distribute, adapt, publish, record, or commercially use The Art of Attention, its underlying framework, or any accompanying materials without prior written permission.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions? Take a look at the FAQ or reach out anytime. If you’re feeling ready, go ahead and apply.
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Not at all - curiosity matters much more than artistic skill and you will have full agency on whether you choose to share your experimental outputs
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Simple materials already found in most homes, such as paper, pens, pencils, and anything else you’d enjoy making marks with.
A short materials list will be shared via email in advance of the workshop
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No. These workshops are educational experiences designed to support your reflective practice. They do not constitute coaching, supervision or therapy.
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These workshops focus on developing your own reflective practice. They are not training in facilitating arts-based methods with clients.
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No. To support a reflective and psychologically safe space, live sessions are not recorded.
I may develop separate ‘on-demand’ editions of The Art of Attention in the future. these will be designed specifically for self-guided learning rather than recordings of live workshops.