Most of our knowledge-sharing sessions at IreneChan.co focus on topics that help us in our daily tasks. These range from content creation tools and AI demos to productivity and other practical topics we can apply to our work.
This time, we decided to try something a little different: art appreciation. Over two sessions, what started as a simple way to bring more creativity into our team learning also became an opportunity to practice mindfulness, slow down, and get to know each other beyond work.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- Why we decided to try art appreciation with our remote team
- What we actually did during the sessions
- What surprised me about the experience
- What I think other remote teams can make from it
Why Art Appreciation?
The idea was partly inspired by something Irene and I had already experienced through homeschooling.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen how art appreciation becomes a meaningful part of learning with our children. One thing we kept noticing was how naturally it encouraged children to slow down, observe carefully, and describe what they saw without worrying about whether they were right or wrong.
It wasn’t even about learning art history. It was about paying attention, becoming more mindful, and learning to notice details that usually go unnoticed.
That made us wonder whether adults, especially those of us working remotely, could benefit from the same kind of experience.
Most of our workdays are filled with meetings, emails, Slack messages, deadlines, and constant context switching. Taking an hour to simply observe, reflect, and share felt like a worthwhile activity. So instead of another work-related learning session, we spent time looking at art together.
Learning to Notice Together
For our art appreciation sessions, Irene introduced us to the work of Russian-German artist Wassily Kandinsky.
We started with Odessa Port, one of his earlier paintings and quite different from the abstract art he later became known for. Irene shared a little about Kandinsky and the painting before giving us some time to simply look at it.
Source: WassilyKandinsky.net
Here are the two Kandinsky artworks we observed and narrated during our art appreciation sessions:
She then took the painting off the screen and asked us to narrate what we remembered and noticed. From there, the conversation naturally moved into what we thought the painting meant and how it made us feel.
In another session, we looked at the same artist, this time through his abstract painting Circles in a Circle, and followed a similar process.
Source: WassilyKandinsky.net
The activity itself was simple, but having to describe the artwork from memory made me pay much closer attention than I normally would when looking at a painting. I’ve done this activity many times with my children through homeschooling, but being on the other side of it this time made me appreciate the process differently. Instead of guiding someone else to observe and narrate, I was the one trying to remember the details, put what I noticed into words, and make sense of what I saw.
Seeing Something Different
One of the things I enjoyed most was hearing what everyone else noticed. We had all spent the same amount of time looking at the same painting, yet our narrations were surprisingly different.
With Odessa Port, I remembered the ships, their rigging, and the colors that made me think of sunset. Another teammate focused on the reflections in the water and described the painting as melancholy. Someone else saw a calm harbor and imagined that every boat had its own story.
The same thing happened when we looked at Circles in a Circle. Some saw space and the cosmos, while another teammate saw interconnectedness in the circles and lines.
That was what made the activity interesting for me. There was no pressure to come up with the best interpretation. It was really about “noticing things.”
We also took the activity beyond looking at paintings. Irene asked us to think of one of our earliest happy memories and make a simple sketch of it.
We then shared our drawings and the stories behind them. We heard stories about childhood, family, and memories that probably wouldn’t have come up in our usual work conversations. Even though we work together regularly, I found myself learning something new about the people I work with.
Caption: Our drawings from the activity, each with a different memory and story behind it.
Bringing Mindfulness Into the Activity
Art appreciation also gave us an unexpected way to practice mindfulness.
After looking at Circles in a Circle, Irene asked us to take out our pens and paper again. This time, we drew circles while timing the movement with our breathing. We would begin drawing as we inhaled and stop as we exhaled, repeating the process at our own pace. Irene described it as a simple mindful practice.
We then used circles for another reflection exercise around the things that were worrying us and the things we could actually control.
One shared about worrying about environmental issues but choosing to focus on small things they could do, like recycling and buying less. Another shared about worrying about what other people think, then realizing we can only really control our own actions and choices.
I liked how simple the activity was. There was nothing complicated to learn and nothing we needed to prepare. We were just drawing, breathing, and giving ourselves a few minutes to pay attention to what was going on in our heads.
For people who spend most of the workday moving between tabs, messages, meetings, and different clients, that pause felt useful.
A Different Kind of Team Learning
By the end of these sessions, I realized that what I enjoyed most wasn’t simply discovering Kandinsky or learning to look more closely at a painting.
It was everything that happened around it.
We practiced noticing and putting our observations into words. We listened to completely different interpretations of the same artwork.
We also learned personal stories about teammates that probably wouldn’t have come up in a regular meeting. We also found a simple way to bring a little mindfulness into the workday.
For me, that’s what made these sessions work as a team activity.
Remote team building doesn’t always have to involve games or activities designed specifically around work. Sometimes doing something completely outside our usual responsibilities gives people more room to talk, listen, and get to know each other naturally.
Irene has written about the importance of having a strong company culture when building a remote team. In that article, she shares how simple initiatives like a watercooler channel can give teammates space to connect beyond work. I think our art appreciation sessions gave us another way to create that kind of space.
Art happened to give us that opportunity.
Would I Recommend This to Other Remote Teams?
Absolutely.
Not because everyone will suddenly become interested in art. But because it offers something many remote teams don’t often experience.
It creates a space to slow down, reflect, listen, and learn something new about the people behind the emails and Slack messages.
Most team-building activities are designed to energize people or help them work together more effectively. This did that too, but in a much quieter way. I’ve shared some of the more playful activities we’ve tried in our article Virtual Holiday Party Ideas for Remote Teams, but I liked how art appreciation gave us a completely different way to spend time together.
It reminded me that learning doesn’t always have to come from another workshop, software tutorial, or productivity framework.
Sometimes it begins with simply paying attention.
Final Thoughts
One of the things I appreciate most about working at IreneChan.co is that learning isn’t limited to becoming better at our jobs.
Of course, we continue learning about recruitment, remote work, marketing, and supporting our clients. But from time to time, this learning experience reminds us that becoming a better professional also means becoming a more thoughtful, observant, and mindful person.
These art appreciation sessions reminded me that creativity isn’t only for artists, and mindfulness isn’t something that has to happen outside of work.
Sometimes all it takes is an hour of slowing down, noticing, and sharing what we see and I hope we continue making space for that.
Looking to Build a More Connected Remote Team?
At IreneChan.co, we believe building a great remote team goes beyond hiring talented people. It’s also about creating opportunities for continuous learning, meaningful conversations, and genuine connection.
If you’re growing a remote team and looking for support with hiring, onboarding, or building a strong remote culture, we’d love to help.
👉 Book a call with Irene to learn how we help startups build thriving remote teams.
