Trending News

Blog Post

Culture

Using Art Galleries As A Mental Health Tool 

Using Art Galleries As A Mental Health Tool

Gogh Look At Some Art

One of the most underrated healing pastimes is attending museums or art galleries.  An Art gallery purposefully provides safe spaces amongst communities. They’re nonjudgmental areas where artists display pieces expressing personal emotional significance while providing a tranquil atmosphere. According to a 2012 study conducted to explore how creative engagement in a museum setting may impact individuals experiencing mental distress, art observation and creating art have immediate and long-term effects beneficial towards your mental health.

Museums create an inspiring public setting that encourages social interaction, as well as aids in promoting calmness and healing. In order to fully understand the art displayed, people are more inclined to interact with other people present or connect with the meaning of the piece in the past or present tense. The stimulating environment provided by museums also creates a response of curiosity and awareness from the attendees.

Due to the atmosphere of art galleries, many people are inspired to partake in an art activity themselves. Drawing and painting are some ways that art museum attendees feel encouraged to express their inner angst into physical form.



Immediate Effects Of Art Gallery

The immediate benefits of attending museums are helpful in fighting mental distress. Art galleries motivate people to actively go out and attempt to create something of their own. For example, I have a friend that began sculpting after attending a nearby museum in the city.

“More than half the time I end up making a mug,” Helia, 26, tells me at her apartment one morning, “and the rest of the time no one can make sense of what I made. But it’s not about the final product for me, it’s actually making something and getting my mind off of the world so I can just do something for myself”

One of the most prominent effects of being exposed to art is the ability to feel transported to a different dimension. Your mind is distracted from your most pressing problems, while pain may be numbed. Art observing and creating is uplifting, relaxing, and healing. In particular, creating art provides a sense of childlike enjoyment. Not only are you looking forward to something but you’ve allotted yourself time to be creative and in theory “play” with your own imagination.

An art gallery can also create a sense of structure in your life. Regularly attending new exhibits and keeping up with modern artists or certain museums contributes a framework to your best-suited lifestyle while also allowing yourself to consciously set time aside to absorb the meaning behind the most intriguing art pieces.

Art Observation As A Tool For Mental Health: Gogh Look At Some Art

Long-Term Effects Of Art Galleries

There’s a long list of evidence to support the long-term positives of viewing and making art. The study noted above has stated that those who took part in both activities experienced a greater sense of self as well as a positive outlook for the future. Not only are people more excited and confident about making plans for the future, but they’re also motivated to do so. It seems to be pretty simple: art makes people feel better about life and themselves.

Positive emotions like cheerfulness, security, and balance are all experienced by those who partake in art observation or creation. Creating art, in particular, help people to experience an increase in the ability to accept compliments. This boost in confidence is not only great for social interactions but for your own self-image.

Being incapable of taking a compliment harms your own perception of yourself. Through creating art, you’re complimented on something you spent time, effort, and money creating. It provides a sort of a third party that you can receive compliments from indirectly, thereby boosting your overall confidence.

Another long-term benefit of incorporating art into everyday life is the increase in awareness. People become more aware of history, social interactions (i.e. romantic, platonic, etc.), and modern stances in politics or societal views through the observation of art depicting specific emotions, events, or stances.



The social awareness benefits of museum attending and creating art also improve social interactions of everyday life. Those normally accustomed to isolation find themselves more eagerly engaging and interacting with others. Whether it’s creating art in a safe environment together or going to museums in a group, there is an increase in sociability. Taking part in these activities in a group provides a fun support system encouraging personal growth and development.

To put it all simply, art can be utilized as an instrument to ease your mental distress. It is beneficial for relieving emotional pain while also providing a distraction for physical pain. It can serve as a platform for vocalizing your opinions and constructing your ideas. It can bring you to a community of people you would’ve never met without diving into art-related events and activities.

Art holds the potential to change the dynamics of your life entirely if you allow and want it to. Don’t know how to start? Attend events at your local museums or sign up for some art classes nearby. It takes a pebble to start a ripple, so if you’re looking for a change like this why not take the first baby step?


The content found on WittedRoots.com is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Absolutely no content to be found on WittedRoots.com is intended to serve as a substitute for the diagnosing, examining, and/or treatment performed by a qualified health professional. To learn more about our policies, please click here.

Related posts

Leave a Reply