Museums as Therapeutic Environments and the Contribution of Art Therapy

Ioannides, Elisabeth

doi:10.1111/muse.12125

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Future work could specifically consider contemplative motivations and experiences with regard to their impact on resulting subjective, transformative experiences. Further, given recent research that has shown that museum visits have well-being benefit (e.g., Ioannides, 2016;Mastandrea, Fagioli, & Biasi, 2019;Thomson, Lockyer, Camic, & Chatterjee, 2017), it would be interesting to consider the role of the different types of exhibition experiences relative to perceived well-being.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An exploratory study of historical representations of love in an art gallery exhibition.

Krause¹,

Davidson²

2022

Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Visitor responses to art exhibitions vary depending on visitor traits, the exhibition context, as well as on the sensory engagement between visitor and exhibition. The present investigation explored visitors' experiences of Love: Art of Emotions, a curated exhibition shown at the National Gallery of Victoria in 2017, which comprised a variety of artworks from the Early Modern period selected to address the broad theme of love. This paper reports on a mixedmethods research project using a short survey and brief exit interviews with visitors to consider how the visitor experience was characterised, the factors that influenced this experience, and how the exhibition content was perceived with particular focus on the emotional content portrayed in the exhibition's collection of artworks. Results of quantitative analyses indicate that familiarity with artworks and their historical period combine with motivations for attending the exhibition (such as being motivated by the exhibition's theme) and have a clear positive influence on one's emotional experience of the exhibition overall.The results of thematic analyses pertaining to the interview responses provide evidence that visitors processed both the emotional and historical content in the exhibition-indicative of having contemplative experiences, and often processing the exhibition content in relation to themselves. These findings have implications for designing future exhibitions and contribute to our broader understanding of how modern-day audiences perceive and respond to historical art exhibitions and the work they comprise.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An exploratory study of historical representations of love in an art gallery exhibition.

Krause¹,

Davidson²

2022

Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Art therapy has been shown to possess enhanced healing potential in promoting mental health through partnerships with museums and galleries (March et al, 2004). Museums address health issues by providing "non-traditional instructional services, gaining a vital role in community connection, " (Ioannides, 2016;Thaler et al, 2017) which has been confirmed by the art psychotherapy program at EMST (National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens). Research has revealed that museum collections increase participants' self-esteem, confidence, and creativity.…”

Section: Research Status Of Museum Art Therapymentioning

confidence: 99%

Museums and art therapy: A bibliometric analysis of the potential of museum art therapy

Wei

Zhong

2022

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper, the current promotion of art therapy in museum development and the potential value of the combination of museum and art therapy on mental health are explored. Individuals who usually evade any treatment may experience art therapy in a museum setting as a release from their suppressed emotions. Furthermore, art therapy may enable them to discover how to express themselves, thereby reducing anxiety and promoting a sense of social belonging, which may be unattainable in other healing settings. Moreover, this literature review afforded us a preliminary understanding of issues in museum education and art therapy, which require further examination, including implications for China’s museum art therapy in practice and future research directions.

show abstract

“…Froggett and Trustram (2014) relate this to Winnicott's (1971) idea of 'potential space' and this is supported by Salom, who discusses how 'visitors' inner frameworks interact with external reality to process events, create relationships, identify subjective experience and conjure intimate meaning' (Salom, 2013, p. 4). Museums have also been considered as 'holding environments' (Ioannides, 2017;Salom, 2008).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It can be said that museum settings and their collections allow for greater exploration than the usual clinical settings, and for both intimacy and independence through possibilities for closeness and distance (Salom, 2008). The way people inhabit, discover and explore the spaces can give insight into the style of relating to ourselves, others and the environment (Chamberlain, 2020;Ioannides, 2017;Jury, 2020a;Salom, 2008Salom, , 2011Trustram, 2013). Young female participants in a study by Coles and Harrison (2018) reported enjoying the option of moving around collectively and/or individually, with the opportunity for playfulness.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Service users and healthcare professionals have referred to the way in which a museum environment can emphasise social bonds and inclusion (All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing, 2017; Bennington et al, 2016;Coles & Harrison, 2018;Salom, 2013;Stiles & Mermer-Welly, 1998;Treadon, 2015). Ioannides (2017) identifies that 'the openness and inclusivity of the museum environment are central to the therapeutic role of these institutions' (p. 104). In addition, the willingness of organisations to form partnership-working and engage with all members of the community, especially those who have not traditionally accessed collections, can be highly beneficial; in one museum-based project, Samuels (2008) points out that 'entrusting' the participants with valuable museum items 'made them feel respected' and that this in turn meant that the facilitators 'gained the trust and respect' of the participants (p. 259).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

‘A space that worked for them’: museum-based art psychotherapy, power dynamics, social inclusion and autonomy

Watson

Coles

Jury

2021

International Journal of Art Therapy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: This article focuses on art psychotherapists' experiences of using museum and gallery settings for group art psychotherapy. Aims: It aims to explore the impact of museum settings for group art psychotherapy on the dynamics of power between therapists and service users, and between service users and the wider community. Methods: Interview transcripts from five art psychotherapists working in museums were analysed using an interpretative phenomenological framework and arts-based methods. Results: Service users may feel valued and socially included by participating in art psychotherapy in museums and using museum objects can help service users to feel empowered within the therapeutic process. Museums offer service users choices, which can engender a sense of autonomy. A museum environment where therapists and service users explore together, and diverse perspectives flourish, may facilitate a flattening of hierarchies. This levelling of the potential power differential is enhanced by a sense of informality and human relating in these settings. Conclusions: The findings suggest that a museum environment for art psychotherapy can influence service users' experience of power and autonomy within the therapeutic relationship and within the wider social sphere. Implications for practice/policy/further research: Art psychotherapists may consider using museums to foster social inclusion, autonomy and a more equal sharing of power with service users, whilst it is recommended that art psychotherapy training courses teach about nontraditional practice and settings, such as museums, and power dynamics.

show abstract

Museums as Therapeutic Environments and the Contribution of Art Therapy

Cited by 22 publications

References 19 publications

An exploratory study of historical representations of love in an art gallery exhibition.

An exploratory study of historical representations of love in an art gallery exhibition.

Museums and art therapy: A bibliometric analysis of the potential of museum art therapy

‘A space that worked for them’: museum-based art psychotherapy, power dynamics, social inclusion and autonomy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About