Rijksmuseum, an arts and history museum settled in the heart of Amsterdam, is requiring visitors to put down their cameras and pick up a pen next time they access the museum’s walls. Rijksmuseum’s new campaign #startdrawing desires to slow down observers, inspiring attendees to draw sculptures and paintings that interest them rather than snapping a picture and moving on to the next work in quick succession.

By slowing down the process of observation, the visitor can get closer to the artist’s secrets, the museum reveals, engaging with each work by actively doing instead of passively capturing. “In our busy lives we don’t always realize how beautiful something can be,” said Wim Pijbes, the general director of the Rijksmuseum. “We forget how to look carefully. Drawing helps because you see more when you draw.” The museum has begun to highlight drawings made by visitors on their Instagram as well as their blog associated with the campaign here.

via thisiscolossal