The Viewer’s Experience: How Museums Promote Well-being and Community Building

Museums are repositories of art, knowledge, and ideologies. But what if they could also promote well-being? The history of museums is long and complex, with the first originating from national projects or notable private collections representing the prevailing canon. However, over time, museums have multiplied, evolving their offerings into an eclectic mix of private and public ventures that focus not only on styles and mediums but also on uncovering previously marginalized or ignored groups, primarily due to ethnicity, gender, or challenging the status quo. The museum’s experience has increasingly gained relevance within this context, particularly through transdisciplinary interest in promoting much-needed well-being. Although educational programming has existed for years and has grown more inclusive and varied, ranging from yoga to gardening and meditation practices, recent data-driven research projects have confirmed the positive impact the museum experience can have on overall health. This article examines the role of museums as facilitators of community building and spaces where individuals can reflect, find inspiration and quiet the outside noise.

Museums and Wellbeing

In recent years, the wellness industry has flourished primarily due to the rise of holistic practices and products, as well as self-help books and apps that address the growing mental health challenges many of us face, which also affect our bodies. This is backed up by numbers as, according to the Global Wellness Institute, the sector now represents over 6% of global GDP, up from 5.75% in 2019. Simultaneously, emerging fields of study like Neuroaesthetics—discussed in a previous article—focus on examining the effects of art on the brain, illustrating the positive influence that artistic practices and environments, such as museums, can have on human beings.

Coinciding with the growing attention toward the intersection of art and health, wellness has steadily made its way into the museum world, encompassing collaborative endeavors and theoretical discussion. For example, as early as 2018, an alliance of cultural organizations, including museums, intending to develop and promote the role of arts and culture in supporting health, was created in the UK under the name The Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance. Moving ahead, in 2021, the Arts & Health @ NYU partnered with the World Health Organization, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Culturunners, to produce Healing Arts New York, a forum highlighting key research, practices, and policy concerning art and wellness. This event featured influential figures like Christopher Bailey, the Art & Health lead at the World Health Organization, who, as shown in this YouTube video, playfully spoke about the relevance of the universally shared aesthetic experience.

More recently, in 2024, the American Alliance of Museums 2024 Annual Meeting and Museum Expo keynote session titled Wired for the Arts: Revitalizing Society through Museum Engagement was led by Susan Magsamen,  Executive Director of the IAM Lab and co-author of the best-selling book  Your Brain on Art: How The Arts Transform Us, (2023).  Also in 2024, Healing Arts Scotland, the first festival in the region focused on art and well-being, included a week-long event produced by the Scottish Ballet and the Jameel Arts & Health Lab in collaboration with the World Health Organization, which is involved in most of these initiatives. The scale event featured 376 activities, ranging from workshops and panels to performances and training sessions held in various locations, including museums. "The festival created new connections between arts and health practitioners,” stated a report of the event shared by  The Art Newspaper.

Museums and Health: Tracking the Financial Benefits

The growing resources and findings from recently concluded studies have begun to lead to increased funding for transdisciplinary research projects and art initiatives, particularly in regions like the US and the UK, where evaluation methodologies for health impacts have also started to be implemented in some cultural organizations. However, in other countries, much progress still needs to be made.

A noteworthy example is the first major UK research quantifying the impact of the arts and heritage on physical and mental health and the monetary value of the benefits they provide. “Arts engagement has diverse effects on health, from supporting cognitive development and protecting against cognitive decline to reducing symptoms of mental illness and enhancing wellbeing(..), via the same neurological and physiological pathways activated by medication…”, Prof Daisy Fancourt, the director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Arts and Health and co-author of the research, said to The Guardian. As an example of the economic impact of such initiatives, the study shows that a weekly drawing class for seniors over 65 at a local museum generated an average financial benefit of $1,600 each by reducing doctor visits.

Museums Have Long Embraced Holistic Approaches 

Although wellness is at the forefront of museum studies today and has gained visibility, museum staff have independently incorporated holistic programming for years, often seeking creative solutions while working under a limited budget. “Especially over the past ten years museums and galleries, both in the UK and abroad, have been using their art and objects to support people's health. We do this because it is something we can do well -learning, social connection, mindfulness- all happen within museum walls and these are all good for our well-being,” explained arts and museum consultant Louise Thompson, who for over 12 years worked as the Health and Wellbeing Manager at Manchester Art Gallery, developing the idea of a Mindful Museum which she now shares globally.

 Here, it should be noted that, at least based on my experience in the field, the educational departments of museums have historically not been seen as the most relevant within cultural organizations. Fortunately, this perception is beginning to change through several recent findings highlighting the key role the human connection between the community and the artworks—represented by educational staff, often with the support of enthusiastic volunteers and interns—has on museums. Thompson also added the funding opportunities these findings could bring.

That said, for years, valuable initiatives centered around a specific date also align with this perspective that enhances what has always lay beneath the museum experience, but we often forget. Significant examples include Slow Art Day, first created in 2010, which, as I have discussed in a previous article, invites organizations globally to develop programming intended to promote paused and conscious looking.  Next to this, Wellness Wednesdays have become a common weekly or monthly practice in cultural organizations, particularly in the US and the UK. As an example, The Brooklyn Museum (NY) offers a range of wellness-related activities, ranging from yoga classes held in the museum’s galleries, guided meditation sessions amidst the artwork, and workshops covering topics such as nutrition, self-care, and stress management, as reported this IAM Lab article.  Additionally, it offers wellness-based programming aimed at educators. Also, the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco offers a Mindful Science program that combines mindfulness with scientific exploration. At the other side of the pond, the Manchester Museum hosts Wellbeing Wednesdays, a monthly event “focused on helping you do something good for yourself,” their website explains.

Next to programming, some organizations have designed specific spaces that foster introspection. For instance, in Manchester, the Manchester Art Gallery offers Room to Breathe, a space dedicated to experiencing art mindfully. With just two artworks from the collection on display, this unique setting, opened in 2022, gives viewers an intimate space to sit back and slow down. "Just you, an armchair, and art," their Instagram feed states. “With Room to Breathe, we wanted to create a space that would enable people to have a mindful experience of art. We wanted to see if we could create the conditions (using art and design and some really lush armchairs and clever lighting) that would support people to be more present as well as enjoy some great art,” Louise Thompson, the mastermind behind this innovative space,  shared with me. “Even if this is just for a moment, we created it in the hope that viewers leave feeling a little bit better and with the desire to be more mindful in their lives outside the museum,” she added.

With a different focus but aligned with a minimalist approach to art curation, The Frick Collection, the renowned NYC museum, will reopen its doors in April after extensive and controversial renovations. Visitors will now be able to explore the second floor, and, as part of the programming, a new Johannes Vermeer exhibition featuring three of the Dutch master's paintings will inaugurate the new galleries (opening in June 2025), reported The Art Newspaper. Each painting will occupy its own wall, inviting and facilitating the profound observation of these marvelous works.

Exploring the Challenges and Future of Art's Role in Wellbeing

Even if a significant portion of the museum world has diversified its programming, some still question whether museums should venture into this area or if reflection and introspection should be achieved solely through art. The latter is undoubtedly true if one takes the time to truly see, feel curious, and engage one’s entire being to apprehend what is before one’s eyes. Perhaps a middle ground can be found, or both options can coexist if the context is right. Indeed, individuals outside the art world might feel drawn to participate in this type of programming, which appears more inviting and could spark a genuine interest in the many wonders of art. Ultimately, the museum’s programming should align with what is presented within its walls and not the other way around as it enhances what the artworks and spaces express by themselves, creating an open and boundless dialogue between viewers and objects.

I think there is no right or wrong approach, but rather one that aligns with the museum’s specific space, vision, exhibition programming, and the community it primarily serves, as this type of program often attracts locals rather than passing visitors. This is particularly true for world-famous tourist destinations, where people have limited time to “see it all,” making a paused and transformative experience quite challenging. The same applies to overcrowded blockbuster exhibits. That said, attendance and ticketing are crucial for funding and somewhat reflect the success of an exhibition or event. The challenge appears to balance attendance goals, inviting quieter spaces, securing funding, and featuring engaging programming. Fortunately, many organizations and enthusiast viewers seem to be taking the first steps toward that.