Discussing Art with Strangers: Art, Uncertainty, and Seeing Through Others’ Eyes
Friday 18 September 2026 | 5PM The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Ave, NY 10028
About the Event
Join Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for a unique evening of close looking and conversation. Led by VTS Institute Director Tara Geer, participants will slow down, look closely, and notice not only what they see, but how differently others see the same work.
VTS is used in schools, museums, medical schools, and healthcare settings to strengthen observation, evidence-based reasoning, and communication. Through facilitated discussion, participants will ground ideas in what they see, stay open when meaning is uncertain, and notice how their thinking changes in response to others.
No prior art knowledge is needed—just curiosity and a willingness to look again. We’ll discuss 2–3 artworks together, then continue the conversation over drinks.
About the Organizer
Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a research-based facilitation method developed from decades of study into how people make sense of what they see. It uses open-ended group discussion of art to make the work of interpretation shared, visible, and disciplined.
Developed in museums and schools, VTS is now used across education, healthcare, and the health professions, including dozens of medical schools, where it supports close observation, communication, tolerance for ambiguity, and reasoning from evidence.
The VTS Institute offers experiential programs for professionals who want to develop these skills through practice, as well as training for educators and facilitators who want to lead rigorous, inclusive VTS discussions in their own settings.